


Andrew, 38

by hippocrates460



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: And other types too, IT'S FINALLY HERE, M/M, Snape's a yogateacher btw, The Grindr AU we've all been waiting for, There'll be phonesex, Where Harry meets Snape through Grindr except it's not that AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-07-04 06:35:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15835761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hippocrates460/pseuds/hippocrates460
Summary: Harry is divorced, two-thirds of his children are at Hogwarts, and he's ready to start dating again. Ideally, someone who has no idea who he is. Lily suggests he should try Tinder and Harry is not a coward.This is the story of how Severus and Harry meet again after 20 years.





	1. New Message Received

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this [Tumblr post](http://hippocrates460.tumblr.com/post/176694164494/potionsmasters-artemira-severusharry). Literally wouldn't let me go. Thank you to everyone involved.

“Da,” Lily is twirling spaghetti around her fork daintily even though she’s already covered in red sauce.

“Yes love?” Harry looks at her fondly. Glad she is enjoying the different dishes they try to cook together. Pasta from scratch with a mushroom-tomato sauce today. The kitchen is covered in flower, the ten-year-old is covered in sauce, and both of them are going to be stuffed after this. The perfect Sunday evening.

“Why don’t you have a Luna?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” she slurps thoughtfully, “mum is going everywhere now to work but she’s always with Luna.”

Harry nods, “Luna is your mum’s wife. I don’t have a wife.”

“Do you work alone?”

“I don’t, I work with your uncle Ron, and sometimes with Scorpius’ da.”

“But you don’t kiss them.”

Harry laughs at that, he wouldn’t kiss Malfoy if he was paid for it and Ron hasn’t been that drunk in years. “No, I don’t kiss them.”

“Marius’ da got a girlfriend through Tinder,” she says, chewing and looking at him bashfully through her eyelashes. Damn child, too clever by far.

“Is that so?” Harry asks, prepared to give her the same please-don’t-set-me-up spiel he’s had to give Hermione, and Neville, and even, worst of all, Ginny.

“Yeah,” she pushes her plate away and eyes the tiramisu that’s waiting on the counter.

“We’ll clean up first,” Harry suggests, and the hopeful look in her eyes makes him give in. “What’s a tinder?”

 

It turns out that Tinder is a way to talk to people through your phone and Lily thinks he’ll be better off dating Muggles anyway. She’s not wrong, most dates he goes on in the Wizarding World end with a request for an autograph. When he tells Hermione about the account his daughter made him she laughs and launches into an explanation of the different apps that exist and their history in the Muggle world. He tries to resist but at night in bed he opens his phone and searches for different apps himself. He’s alright with his phone, it’s a new and fancy one even if he mostly uses it to contact the parents of his kids’ Muggle friends. The only other app he ends up downloading is Grindr. He hides it, on the second page of a folder with apps he never uses, so that Lily won’t find it. Debates for a long time whether he should set his Tinder profile to men and women and in the end just goes for it. He feels – light. Free, in a way. Like this could maybe work.

It took Lily a week to convince her dad to download Tinder, it takes Harry about an hour to get thoroughly tired of dating apps. After the fourth picture of a penis comes through he spends 45 minutes figuring out how to turn off the notifications for the apps. At least this way he won’t have to worry about his children seeing notifications for... And there’s the fifth.

He sighs and puts his phone away. It’s bedtime anyway.

 

A week later, when he’s waiting for their dinner to be done as Lily finishes her homework at the kitchen table, a message pops up on his Grindr. The photo is of a tall man in a tree pose, Harry recognizes it from the yoga lessons for pregnant people Ginny used to drag him to. It’s a little hard to see his face because of the light coming from behind, but Harry decides he likes the look of him.

‘Hey Andrew,’ the message reads and Harry remembers for the fortieth time that Lily and he had decided not to use his real name. It’s not rude and there’s no nudity so Harry feels cautiously optimistic about this man.

‘Hey Sam,’ he messages back, checking the profile. ‘ _Don’t talk to me if you’re stupid_ ’ it reads and Harry actually snorts. No other information at all. Lily looks up and he makes a vague movement with his hand. She rolls her eyes and gets back to work.

‘I’m afraid I feel compelled to say that I’m extremely stupid.’

‘Ah,’ the man writes back, ‘that’s a shame.’

Harry bites his lip as the man continues typing. ‘Are you quite certain?’

‘Absolutely. I am positively soft in the head.’

‘What a pity. It seems I’ll have to put my very high standards aside. Just this once.’

‘Oh? How have I convinced you to give me a second chance?’

The oven dings and Harry doesn’t even look up, watching the message pop up. ‘I’m extremely horny.’

He cackles and sets his phone aside to take the roast out of the oven and tell Lily to clean up and wash her hands.

‘Is this where you sweeten the deal by telling me you’re flexible?’

‘You’d like that, wouldn’t you? You may be forgiven but you’re not at a stage where you can start demanding anything yet.’

Lily comes back and gives him the evil eye so Harry puts his phone away and serves dinner. They chat about her day and her homework and he helps her with her sums after they’ve finished cleaning up together. During her bath she asks about how his dating is going and Harry deflects by promising her some TV before bed.

Of course, she never forgets, and when he’s tucking her in after her bedtime story, she whispers: “Da?”

“Yes love?”

“If you want to date boys it’s alright.”

Harry swallows around something heavy in his throat and kisses her forehead again. “Thank you. You’re very sweet.” It’s not that he _wouldn’t_ it’s just that he _hasn’t_ and new things are supposed to be a little scary aren’t they?

 

In the living room, with a glass of whiskey, he opens the app up. Not allowed to make demands yet, is he? Harry feels his lips curl.

‘I’m going to have to disappoint you again,’ he writes. ‘I’m extremely demanding.’

‘Is that so?’ Comes back after a few minutes of Harry trying to distract himself from Sam by checking out what’s going on in other chats he’s having.

‘Absolutely.’ He thinks for just a second before adding: ‘I demand really great blowjobs.’

It feels stupidly like the bravest thing he’s ever done, and his fingers shake a little as he hits send. It’s not a lie, blowjobs are quite probably his favourite thing about sex. They’re also the only sex act he’s ever engaged in with another man, when Ginny and he had just gotten divorced. Almost, Merlin. Almost two years ago.

‘And what do you offer in return?’ Sam asks, and Harry grins. He has the feeling that Grindr isn’t supposed to be for long conversations but this man clearly didn’t mind Harry checking out to have dinner and put Lily to bed. Harry thinks on his answer for a second.

‘Witty banter. My gorgeous body. I’m told I follow instructions well.’

‘A useful skill for an obtuse individual such as yourself.’

Harry reads back in his log of conversations, he’s never enjoyed a conversation like this before. Possibly ever. He wants to meet this man.

‘Can I show you? Tomorrow night?’

He is already thinking of how to ask Ron to babysit on such short notice, when the notification comes. ‘I’m afraid I’m unavailable tomorrow, the day after?’

Harry thinks, that’s Thursday... ‘I have to work then, Friday?’

‘Friday. Meet me at 8.’ Sam sends him a location, somewhere in a residential neighbourhood in Poplar. His house probably.

‘Can’t wait,’ Harry types back, including a grinning emoji. He gets back an eye-rolling emoji and goes to bed still chuckling.

 

Over the next two days they exchange a few more messages, half of them about how much Harry is a vapid fool and Harry is in stiches every time. He goes to bed every night with a grin.

Friday morning he wakes up smiling and even sings in the shower. When he gets out he checks his phone only to find a message was left not ten minutes earlier. ‘I’m very sorry to cancel but I’ve had an issue at work and won’t be able to make it tonight. Would tomorrow night be possible?’

Harry is more disappointed then he’ll ever admit to himself, but at least Sam doesn’t seem to be blowing him off, otherwise he wouldn’t have suggested another day. Right?

‘I’m sorry to hear! Tomorrow I have to go see family. Sunday?’

It takes a while but the message from Sam that comes back has Harry sitting down on the edge of the bath, still only half-dressed. ‘I’m travelling for three weeks, leaving Sunday afternoon.’

Harry seriously considers blowing off Molly for the first time in twenty years, but he knows how sad it would make Lily and her. Time for some Gryffindor bravery.

‘Are you a mouth-breather?’

‘Pardon?’

‘I made myself a promise, after the last time I encountered one. Are you a mouth-breather?’

‘I’m not. Do I want to know?’

Harry laughs, it’s a funny story now, much as it was an uncomfortable thirty minutes. ‘I learned a big lesson about letting people set you up for dates that day. I had to ask a friend to call me with a pretend emergency to get away.’ He attaches his phone number.

When he’s having breakfast, his phone buzzes, and when he turns it over to look, there’s a message from an unknown number. ‘For witty banter,’ is all it says, and Harry doesn’t stop grinning the rest of the morning.

‘So what was your work emergency?’ He texts Sam during his lunchbreak.

‘My yoga studio was broken into,’ Sam writes back almost immediately.

‘Shit, are you the owner or do you work there?’

‘I own the studio, but I also teach classes.’

Harry can’t help but huff out in his amusement, causing his secretary to give him a strange look. ‘I’ve known you all of four days and I already can’t imagine you telling people to relax and connect to their inner eyes.’

‘I don’t, I tell them to shut up and stop wobbling.’

Harry has to throw up a Muffliato to stop himself from disturbing everyone in his vicinity with his laughing. He knows Muffliato doesn’t stop people from seeing the soppy grin and tries to take deep breaths. When he’s calmed down a little he writes back, ‘I’m really sorry about the break-in. What happened?’

There’s a long pause before Sam starts typing again. ‘Broken window, they broke the cash register. It was empty but I’ll have to replace it. Overall just a mess and I really can’t afford to close for more than a day.’

‘That’s awful. I’m glad you get to open again soon and go travel.’

‘You’re strange.’

‘Dimwit, remember? How am I strange.’

‘You’ve never met me, were clearly looking forward to a shag, and seem genuinely concerned now about my wellbeing.’

‘You’re hilarious, a small business owner, and a long-term investment.’ Harry shoots back. He’s staring dopily at his phone before realizing Malfoy has been trying to get his attention for a while and shutting it in his drawer. He has a meeting to get to.


	2. Incoming Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Harry can’t help but huff out in his amusement, causing his secretary to give him a strange look. ‘I’ve known you all of four days and I already can’t imagine you telling people to relax and connect to their inner eyes.’
> 
> ‘I don’t, I tell them to shut up and stop wobbling.’"

When he’s waiting in line to Floo home, he checks his phone again. ‘Flatterer,’ Sam wrote. ‘So now that you know uncomfortably much about me, what do you do?’

Harry grins, he’s not worked with Malfoy for the last decade and a half without figuring out how people pretending not to like you act. While he cleans himself off after stepping through the Floo, he types with one hand. ‘Law enforcement, desk stuff mostly these days.’

‘Because you’re in charge or because you’re fat and old?’

‘At least I listed my age on my profile.’ Harry laughs and gets to cooking dinner. Lily will be home soon from spending a few hours after school at The Burrow. She’ll be hungry after playing outside with her cousins.

‘Fat it is,’ Sam writes back.

‘I’ll admit I’m more comfortable dad than captain of the team these days,’ Harry writes. ‘But we can’t all be lean mean yoga instructors.’

‘Shit you’re a dad?’

‘Was I not supposed to be?’

A long pause. ‘Unusual to have people on here admit it.’

‘On here? WhatsApp?’

‘Fuck off, you know what I mean,’ it comes back so immediately that Harry feels like he’s having an actual conversation. ‘Anyway,’ types Sam, ‘it seems like the polite thing to do would be to ask about them.’

Harry feels his lips twitch and finishes chopping the onions before replying. ‘Two boys and a girl. The boys are away at school.’

‘You’re married?’

Is he nervous? Does he want him not to be? ‘Divorced.’

‘Let me guess, she caught you fucking the pool boy?’ Harry can’t be offended. It’s funny.

‘She told me that she’s a lesbian. Traveling the world with her wife as we speak.’ It’s quiet on the other side. Harry decides not to tell Sam he’s still friends with Ginny and harbours no hard feelings. It’ll just draw attention to the divorced thing. ‘Where are you off to?’

It’s not until after dinner, when Lily has been kissed and cuddled and tucked in, that a reply comes. ‘India, my customers appreciate a sense of authenticity. I buy them paraphernalia.’

‘Oh well, I could’ve saved you the trip.’ Harry smiles as he types and twirls his drink around in his glass. What did he used to do with his evenings? He tries to think back to a week ago when he wasn’t talking to Sam yet, and remembers... Paperwork. That’s right. ‘I know this great little place in Southall.’

‘God don’t remind me. These hipsters all want the same shit they sell there but with a label that says organic or authentic and over a hundred pounds.’

Harry discretely googles ‘hipsters’ and cackles at the pictures he finds. Every time he takes his kids out into Muggle London he seems to trip over the identically dressed masses. Good to finally have a name for them.

‘Is that all you’ll be doing in India?’

‘I’ll be visiting friends, catching up with colleagues. I’m rather looking forward to it for the most part.’

‘You have the most infectious enthusiasm.’ Harry replies and he’s still smiling by the time he gets into bed and turns off the light.

 

He ends up taking a shift for work on Sunday just because he’s bummed that he won’t get to spend time with Sam. Lily is off having the time of her life at Ron and Hermione’s. The MLE have been having an issue with ex-Death Eaters being attacked by Voldemort sympathizers again and he’s spending the night hidden across from the Malfoy Manor, wrapped in Warming spells and his Invisibility Cloak. It’s utterly boring.

‘Safe flight,’ he sends to Sam.

‘I have a layover in Amsterdam right now.’

Harry googles layover, then flying to India, and feels a sharp pain for all Muggles. It takes a day _and_ they have to spend a month’s rent to go there and back. No wonder they’d rather let someone else bring in the goods.

‘A long one?’

‘Hour and a half, not enough to get mashed.’

Harry searches for mashed too but it turns up nothing that would make sense. ‘Mashed?’

‘High. Buy weed and smoke it. You sure you’re in law enforcement?’

‘I’ll have you know I had to google hipster.’

‘Did your kids not teach you that one?’

‘Nah they stopped trying a while ago.’ Harry looks around and finds his eyes are no longer accustomed to the darkness. He turns down the brightness on his phone but he knows he should stop texting. ‘They know I’m out of touch.’

‘I’d give up too if I were them, you clearly have the learning curve of a cabbage.’

Harry smiles. ‘Can I call you?’

His phone starts ringing soon after. Harry casts some silencing charms before picking up.

 

“Hey, sorry about that.”

“It’s alright,” a dark voice comes back. Sam sounds extremely hoarse and makes something in Harry’s stomach flare up like it hasn’t in years. There’s some background noise but because Harry is out alone in the dark, it all feel strangely intimate.

“Are you sick?” He asks.

“No? I’m – oh, my voice. I was in an accident. Damaged my vocal chords. The scars are rather obvious, people usually notice them before I even speak.” He pauses for a second. “Is that – is that a problem?”

Harry chuckles. “Of course not. I spent enough time in the field to look like I wrestled a bear and came back for seconds.” It’s true. Curse scars stay, and Merlin knows he’s been cursed enough during his time as an Auror.

Sam laughs softly, “I seem to remember a saying about fools returning to their folly?”

“Well I like making mistakes seven or eight times just to be sure,” Harry teases back and when Sam laughs again it makes his heart soar. “I’m working actually, so if I suddenly have to go you’ll know what happened.”

“So late?”

“Yea,” Harry leans back against the tree that he’s standing in front of. “A group of... Eh – sorry, I’m not supposed to say too much about it. A minority is being harassed so we’ve set out my colleague who belongs to the minority as bait and I’m keeping an eye on his front door hoping they’ll come.”

“Fascinating,” drawls Sam and Harry laughs again. “Should you not be paying attention?”

“I’m... in the... car.” Damn, he was going to say invisible. “Sorry, thought I saw something.”

“I wouldn’t want to keep you from work, Andrew,” Sam says, and Harry wants to correct him. He really, really shouldn’t though.

“I promise it’s alright,” Harry says and he can hear Sam smile.

“Any other words you’ve had to look up?”

Harry thinks about it, “no, so far only the cool words.” He could hardly tell Sam that he didn’t know anything about flights. “Where are you going in India?”

“I’m flying to New Delhi,” Sam shuffles about a bit, judging by the rustling through the connection. “Travelling to several different places over the weeks, Bangalore and around there. Then to Babatpur. Have you been?”

Harry considers what to lie about, never having flown or never having left the country? He decides to go with the smaller lie. “Only to Mumbai, for work some time ago. Do you travel a lot?”

“No.” Sam takes a breath, “I didn’t actually even fly for the first time until I was around your age. Now I can’t leave work too much but I try to go around Europe and I have travelled around India quite a bit.”

Harry hums. “I’ve been on holidays around... Shit. I’m sorry, I see something. Safe flight!”

He waits for Sam to say “goodnight” in his soft warm voice before hanging up. He catches the idiots trying to break into Malfoy Manor before Malfoy even manages to close his bathrobe and has them delivered to the holding cells soon after.

‘Hope you caught them,’ he reads on his phone as he lies in bed.

‘I did,’ Harry promises. ‘Didn’t even get punched in the face.’

‘Excuse me what?’ Comes back almost immediately.

‘You’ve landed already?’

‘Just now,’ Sam writes. ‘Answer the damn question. How often have you had your nose broken?’

‘Oh, more times than I can count. I have a strange penchant for getting punched in the face when making arrests. My friends have a running bet on it, I think it goes per month? One of my colleagues snitches me out every time it happens.’

‘Your nose looks fine in the pictures.’

‘Yeah,’ shit. It does. ‘Lucky, I guess.’

 

He texts Sam a couple of times a day, and even gets some pictures of dusty markets and gorgeous fabrics sent back. When he’s doing laundry on Wednesday night, Lily gone to have dinner at a friend’s house, Sam texts him that he’s waiting at an airport again. He calls him immediately.

“Do you not read?” Harry asks, fighting to keep his tone serious.

“Pardon?” Sam sounds extra husky today and Harry can’t help but shiver a little.

“If you’re bored waiting, I can recommend books.”

“Specific books or the concept of books?” Harry laughs, it’s so good to hear his voice. He pretends to think, making humming noises as he flicks his wand to have a load of laundry fold itself.

“I’m not sure you’d be the type to enjoy picture books...”

Sam laughs, throaty and rough, then coughs.

“I’m sorry,” Harry is still smiling but he really is sorry for making Sam cough, “are you alright?”

“Just – pollution,” Sam wheezes as he recovers. “Stop being funny please. And stop apologizing.”

“Can’t help it, the apologizing,” Harry can’t help but tease. “It’s a symptom of the horrible abuse I underwent as a child.”

This time Sam goes straight to coughing, skipping the laughing entirely, and Harry smiles.

“Bastard,” Sam manages. “I can’t even remember what we were talking about.”

“I was recommending you some of my favourite picture books. Now as a traditionalist myself, I’m rather partial to The Very Hungry Caterpillar, but – oh, it seems my daughter is home.”

“Ah, not to worry, we can talk another time.”

“No, no, I don’t have to go, I’ll just have to say hi to her.”

Lily walks into the kitchen. “Hi dad.”

“Hey love,” he leans in and she kisses him on her cheek. “Did you have a good day? Did you finish your homework at Ella’s?”

“I had a really good day but I didn’t finish my homework,” she looks absolutely knackered, her hair filthy and covered in twigs, “we just played.”

“Alright,” Harry thinks fast, “how about you try to get as much as possible done in half an hour and then after your bath I’ll help you finish?”

“Okay, but only if I can have hot chocolate now.” Harry hears Sam snort on the other side of the line and has to work not to smile.

“I’ll make you some hot chocolate, but I’m on the phone so you’ll have to get to work immediately.”

Lily nods and gets out her books and Harry works the stove, getting the ingredients one-handed.

“Sorry about that,” he says to Sam. “Tell me what you normally do while you wait?”

“Masturbate,” Sam says, low rumble, Harry nearly chokes. “You can’t even swear now, can you? Your daughter in the room. Normally I’d hide in the bathrooms, preferably the wheelchair accessible stall, and take my time with some porn, my 100 ml bottle of lube, and those _big_ mirrors they have.”

“You’re evil,” Harry tries to keep his tone light for Lily and stirs the pan, willing the chocolate to dissolve faster. “And that’s really your favourite book?”

“Oh yes,” Sam sighs, his voice still low, “I have a silicon plug, you know? Metal wouldn’t do, not in an airport. Sometimes I wear it to make the tedium of waiting not so... hard.”

Harry is biting the inside of his cheek now. The hot chocolate is done, he pours it into a cup and waves his wand to set everything to clean and put itself away.

“Who’re you on the phone with,” Lily asks, bright and clear. Sam begins to say something but she follows it up with: “Is it Sam?”

“It is,” Harry smiles at her and picks a leaf out of her hair. Sam makes a strange noise but Harry knows what’s coming.

“Hi Sam!” Lily shouts, loud enough for not just the person on the other line, but everyone in their vicinity to hear too.

“He says hi back,” Harry taps a finger on the page of math exercises she has open and checks the time before taking the folded laundry out of the kitchen.

“I said no such thing,” Sam drawls when Harry closes the door.

“You’ll pick up on the game soon enough, I figured I’d help you out just this once.”

“She knows about me?”

Harry hears the surprise that Sam is trying to hide and he thinks of Malfoy desperately trying to look like he doesn’t care if he gets invited for drinks at the Leaky or not once again. “She’s the one that suggested I download Tinder. I’d never heard of the concept and did some research, and here we are.”

“Machiavellian of her.”

“Takes after her brother. The oldest one is all noise and bravado but the other one...”

“You’re just sour they’re smarter than you.”

Harry laughs. “I named him after a... a friend. Who passed. Didn’t realize it was the name that made my friend a scheming little shit or that it’d be contagious.”

“Names have power,” Sam says, and if that isn’t the truth.

His flight gets called and they say goodbye fondly, Harry spends the rest of the day feeling buoyant. Not even Lily whining about having to wash her hair can ruin his mood.

 

When he tucks her into bed, he remembers something. “How did you get home? Did I leave the door open?”

Lily shakes her head. “Ella’s mum’s a witch.” That doesn’t help at all. Lily has known how to not let anyone know they’re magic since she started primary school and unlike James she’d never slipped up.

“I Floo’d home, da. I saw they had Floo powder and offered to go home by myself so she wouldn’t have to drive me.”

“And Ella?”

“They’re not sure, her mum asked me not to talk about it too much in case she isn’t.”

“Good job then, love. On figuring it out and getting home by yourself.”

He kisses her goodnight and remembers on his way out that he’s never met Ella’s mum, though he’s seen her dad several times and talked to both of them on the phone. He feels strangely grateful that she’s never brought it up, never made him feel famous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love hearing what you think! Am I making sense? What do you think will happen next??


	3. Attachment: 1 image

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "“She knows about me?”
> 
> Harry hears the surprise that Sam is trying to hide and he thinks of Malfoy desperately trying to look like he doesn’t care if he gets invited for drinks at the Leaky or not once again. “She’s the one that suggested I download Tinder. I’d never heard of the concept and did some research, and here we are.”
> 
> “Machiavellian of her.”
> 
> “Takes after her brother. The oldest one is all noise and bravado but the other one...”
> 
> “You’re just sour they’re smarter than you.”
> 
> Harry laughs. “I named him after a... a friend. Who passed. Didn’t realize it was the name that made my friend a scheming little shit or that it’d be contagious.”
> 
> “Names have power,” Sam says, and if that isn’t the truth."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've adjusted the chapter count, I'm having too much fun with this.

“What’s Grindr like in India?” Harry asks one day when he’s out flying wrapped up in Notice-Me-Not charms. It’s a little odd to be on the phone while flying but he’s enjoying the view and the chat.

“It’s not great, why do you ask?”

“Wondering. My friend asked if we were exclusive and I tried to explain to her that I’m not fourteen.”

“Is that your way of saying that you’ve been sucking dick every other day?”

Harry laughs, “not at all, I haven’t actually even talked to anyone but you for quite a while now. It just made me think that even if you weren’t doing it now, you might have in the past. And attitudes are different there, so I was wondering how that affects the apps.”

“It’s not a bad question,” Sam concedes. “There’s a lot of people looking for a quick and discrete hook-up, but that’s not so different from the UK. Outside of the cities it’s deafening silence.”

“Makes sense,” Harry hums. “Makes me glad to live here.”

“Wasn’t always as it is now,” Sam’s tone is quiet, not to hide what they’re talking about from people around him for once. Just, unhappy.

“No.” Harry remembers he doesn’t even know Sam’s age, although he is starting to suspect he’s significantly older than Harry, “different for you than for me even, wasn’t it?”

“I also didn’t exactly grow up in London,” Sam confesses and Harry wants to know _everything_. He holds back, just hums.

 

They text and call, talk about work and Harry’s family and the things Sam is seeing in India, and decide to meet up for lunch the day Sam comes back.

‘I’m landing at six in the morning, have to teach a class at eleven. You could pick me up at the studio at half twelve?’

‘Sounds good,’ Harry types with one hand while making sure he has that whole day off. Then he Floo calls Hermione and asks her if she’ll please come shopping with him please?

 

“What was so urgent?” Hermione asks, when he meets her in front of Selfridges.

“I have a date,” Harry explains, taking her arm. “And I need yoga clothes.”

“A yoga date?” She smiles and steers him to the escalators. Harry hums happily and leans his head on hers for a second.

“Thanks for coming with me.”

“I’m not being nice here,” Hermione laughs at him as they walk through rows and rows of extremely tight trousers. “I want all the details in return.”

Harry blushes and she laughs harder.

“Now, what does the website say that you need to wear?”

Harry searches for the studio, then hands his phone over. She’ll find it faster anyway. She scrolls and clicks, then sighs. “It just says loose and comfortable clothing. You’re doing a beginners class right?”

“Check the schedule, it’s a Monday at 11.”

“Suitable for beginners, alright.”

She collects trousers and shirts left and right and pushes him into a changing room without much ceremony.

“Thank you for doing this,” Harry tells her as he works his way out of his Muggle clothes.

“Couldn’t let you ask Madame Malkin about this, could I?”

He leans around the curtain. “Ha-ha.”

After trying too many clothes and having them be rejected or accepted based on criteria Harry does not understand, they pause for a coffee.

“Tell me about her,” Hermione prods him with her foot. “I’ve never seen you like this.”

Harry looks at her and feels himself blush. Again. “Him.”

“Oh, Harry,” she squeezes his hand across the table. “He’s a Muggle, right?”

Harry nods. “It’s his yoga studio, I’m supposed to meet him after class for lunch but I want to see him at work.”

“So Monday?”

“A week and a half from now,” Harry buries his face in his hands and Hermione giggles. “I know a lot and very little about him. We met through Grindr and didn’t have time to meet up before he left to India for three weeks, but we’ve been talking since.”

“I’m sure he’s wonderful.”

“He’s mean,” Harry looks at her, “and sarcastic, and hilarious. Brilliant.”

“Just your type,” she teases, and Harry rolls his eyes. You mention you think Malfoy is pretty _once_.

“We’ve been friends too long, I’m going to have to let you go,” he decides.

“You need new Muggle clothes,” she throws back, “get a move on.”

 

At night he shows off the clothes he bought to a giggling Lily, who helps him pick an outfit. He shows her some of the pictures Hermione took of clothes that they decided not to buy and she laughs, curled up in his arms on the sofa. On a whim, he sends one of the pictures to Sam. It’s Harry in extremely short shorts that say ‘Tasty’ on the back wearing a sweater that was nice from the front, but had a hideous bear on the back.

“You’ve done your homework?” He asks Lily and she goes hm-hmm. “What do you feel like?”

“A game,” she suggests. They play a board game and Harry gets his ass handed to him, until it’s time for bed. He decides to have a bath after tucking Lily in and cleaning up downstairs, checking his phone only after he’s chin-deep in purple bubbles.

 

‘I’m uninviting you for lunch,’ Sam has messaged back.

‘My shapely legs can’t come to lunch without me.’

‘Are you available for a call?’

Harry calls immediately, setting up Silencing Charms so he won’t wake Lily up.

“Don’t you sleep?”

“I’m in bed, I was just reading.”

Harry laughs a little, mindful of the echo of the bathroom. “Old people need less sleep, I’ve heard.”

Sam laughs, low and rough. “Please tell me you didn’t buy either of those abominations?”

“I did! I got the shorts in three colours.”

“The things people will spend money on,” Sam groans.

“Like hand-dyed fabrics? Organic candles?”

“Don’t forget the environmentally friendly yoga mats.”

“CDs of natural sounds.”

Sam laughs again, “I’d forgotten about those. Thank god most people have enough sense not to buy things you can get for free on YouTube.”

“I see a business idea here,” Harry adds a little water to the tub. It sets the purple bubbles flying and popping, releasing their lavender scent. “Make a CD teaching people how to do yoga.”

“I’m sure those exist.”

“Of your voice?”

He makes a surprised noise, “why of my voice?”

“It’s incredibly sexy. Commanding.” It is, it really is. “Has no one ever told you this before?”

“Before the – the accident. People called it mesmerizing or rich, but never sexy.”

“I’m pretty sure that if you drop your voice and let it get all sultry, you could make me do anything.”

“Interesting,” Sam lets his voice drop and get all sultry and Harry shivers. “Am I correct to assume from the echo and background noises that you’re having a bath?”

“Eh,” Harry’s voice croaks. “Yeah. I am.”

His breath is hitching and he feels warm and Sam hasn’t even done anything yet.

“So if I told you to take your free hand and run your nails from your knee to your groin on the inside of your thigh?”

Harry does it, slow and steady, “I’d – I’d do it.” He sounds completely gone already and he doesn’t even care. He’s hard and aching from such a simple touch.

“Is the bath hot?” _Hot_. In that tone of voice.

“Yea – yeah. What about you? Are you – in bed? Silk pyjamas?”

A low rumbling laugh. “I sleep naked.”

“Oh,” Harry lets his head fall back, fights the urge to squeeze his cock. “Are you hard?”

“Very." Even his breathing sounds loud. "Why don’t you take your balls in hand, play with them a little?”

“That’s – it’s nice.” It’s not nearly enough, but the thought of Sam in his hotel room, naked and aching for him, it makes his hips stutter.

“Tell me what you normally do. When you masturbate.”

 Oh Merlin. “I take, eh, gods. I use my right hand and I, play with my nipples.”

“Do it.”

The sharp pain makes Harry hiss and squirm and he hears Sam’s breathing hitch in response. “Then I, when I’m really – hard. I hold my cock. With my other hand.”

“Can you hold your phone between your ear and your shoulder?”

Harry can do better than that, he casts a silent hoovering spell so that the phone stays in place by his head. “Yeah.”

“Use your right hand to pinch your nipples. Cup your balls with your left.”

Not enough at all, Harry’s harder than he’s ever been. “What are you doing?”

Sam hums, “listen.” Harry hears some shuffling, then the unmistakable sound of lube and cock. Wet.

“Fuck me up,” Harry groans, and Sam chuckles.

“I’d love to.”

“Can I? Please?”

“Can you what?” Sam sounds so pleased. In charge.

Harry can’t speak, pinching his nipples and rolling his balls has him desperate. “Come, I want to touch myself and I want to come. Please.”

“The hand that’s working your nipples. Hold your cock. Don’t move it.”

Harry squeezes himself and arches in relief. He knows he’s being loud.

“That close?” Sam teases. “Good.”

“Oh,” Harry’s hips stutter at being called good and he’s a little surprised by himself. Sam isn’t.

“Good boy. We’re almost there.”

“Ok,” Harry sighs, “ok. Are – are you close?”

“Very,” Sam promises, and Harry leans back again. “Squeeze. Stroke once.”

“That’s – so good.”

“You’re doing very well,” Sam’s voice is rough and hoarse, more so even than it normally is. It makes Harry’s skin ache with the need to be touched. “Do it again.”

Harry’s back arches again, he presses his knees open against the sides of the bath.

“Can you hear me?” Sam asks, and Harry hears the steady stroking noise. Obscene and wet.

“I can, I can. I wish it were me,” Harry whines.

“Match me.”

Harry starts stroking himself in time with Sam, too slow to get off, enough to drive him absolutely insane. He cries and barely notices when his fingers dig into his thigh hard enough to leave marks.

“Fuck, Sam,” he pants when he notices Sam speeding up just a little bit.

Sam’s breathing is ragged too, “gorgeous, look at you, you’re doing so well.”

He speeds up further and Harry knows he’s getting close now and then – the sounds stop. Harry has been listening so intently that he stops too, immediately, and he can’t help the noise that escapes him.

“That came from deep,” Sam laughs, so hoarse, so hot.

“Want to – please,” Harry is digging into his thighs with both hands now unable to touch his cock and not fuck his fist.

“Deep breaths.” Sam listens for Harry to follow his instruction until he’s calmed down a little. “Alright. Do it.” Sam’s voice is demanding now and Harry’s hands move without him pausing to think about it again. He casts a lubrication spell on his hand and lets it fly over his cock as fast as he needs to come in no time at all, his stomach clenching, screaming and panting. He comes so fast that he hears Sam come as he’s catching his breath, a deep low moan and stuttering gasps the only indication.

“Fuck,” he gasps, trying to relax his hands, his neck, his thighs. “Fuck.” He’s laughing now.

“You can say that,” Sam chuckles, sounding so damn pleased with himself.

Harry looks around, all the bubbles have gone and he’s going to need a shower after this. “So much for my bath,” he laughs.

“Amateur,” Sam drawls, “how long have you been masturbating? Should know how not to make a mess by now.”

Harry does know how not to make a mess. It involves magic. Spelling one liquid out of another is a little beyond his ability though.

“Did your significant life experience teach you that? Wanking into a sock?”

Sam sounds almost sad when he sighs, and where did that come from? His tone is light and teasing when he speaks though. “I’m personally partial to tissues, it helps with the laundry.”

“And after that enlightening lesson on tossing off, I’m for the shower. Good night.”

“Good night,” is that – fondness? Harry feels immensely proud of himself all the way through his shower, getting dressed for bed and brushing his teeth. _Fond_.

 

The day that Sam flies back, Harry takes Lily out. First to the zoo, then to dinner.

“How are you feeling about Al being at Hogwarts now that it’s been a few months?” He asks her when she’s sitting on his lap after dinner. He’s drinking a coffee and she’s doodling in the colouring book that Harry learned a long time ago to take absolutely everywhere.

“It’s alright,” she stays focused on her drawing. “I liked doing homework with him and having someone to play with at home but he sends me letters about Hogwarts and they’re really funny.”

“Do you think it’s easier because you spend time with your cousins at The Burrow?”

She hums, “well Rox and Hugo are younger than me and Lucy will be leaving to Hogwarts next year but at least Louis and I will go together.”

Harry kisses the top of her head and signals for the bill. She doesn’t even blink at the Muggle money Harry counts out, even if Harry’s sure she’s more comfortable with Sickles and Knuts.

“When Sam comes to stay with us, will we have to pretend not to know magic?” She asks as they’re walking home together.

“Excuse me?” Harry asks, and he’s treated to one of Ginny’s are-you-dense stares. He wonders if they practice these things together.

“When Luna stayed with us it was alright because she’s a witch too.”

Oh. _Oh._ “I don’t know. I don’t know if Sam will come stay with us, and I don’t know if we can do magic around him. Is it alright if I tell you when I find out?”

She thinks, then nods.


	4. Poplar Yoga, 3 hr 2 min (9 mi)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "“When Sam comes to stay with us, will we have to pretend not to know magic?” She asks as they’re walking home together.
> 
> “Excuse me?” Harry asks, and he’s treated to one of Ginny’s are-you-dense stares. He wonders if they practice these things together.
> 
> “When Luna stayed with us it was alright because she’s a witch too.”
> 
> Oh. Oh. “I don’t know. I don’t know if Sam will come stay with us, and I don’t know if we can do magic around him. Is it alright if I tell you when I find out?”
> 
> She thinks, then nods."

When Harry Apparates to the alley near the studio that he’d found while exploring on Google maps, the nerves are back. The studio looks nice, simple wooden furniture, the smell of laundry powder and eucalyptus.

“Hi,” he tells the lady behind the counter. “It’s my first time.”

“Hello virgin,” she winks and gets him a mat, a form, and a pen. “First class is free, after that it depends on the card you buy. Everything you need you can buy here but we won’t be upset if you get it somewhere else.”

It’s clearly well-rehearsed and Harry is in the middle of thanking her when he hears a familiar voice and his stomach drops. As if pulled in by a string he drops his things, flashes her a smile and follows the sound of the voice to the hallway that leads to the changing rooms. He rounds the corner and sees a tall man talking to a worried-looking girl. His hair is pulled up into a bun, he’s wearing a long-sleeved shirt and cotton trousers and Harry _wants_.

The girls looks at him, and he flashes her a smile too. The man follows her line of sight and –

“Holy fuck.”

Harry’s legs carry him, he doesn’t need to decide on anything, doesn’t need to think. In three steps he crosses the hallway, wraps his arms around Snape’s neck. Snape is still taller than him and he has to stand on his tip-toes, but then strong arms wrap around his waist and a deep shuddering breath has light coming in where it’s been dark for decades. His mind goes click click click, accident, scars, a new life.

“Potter,” Snape whispers into his hair, halfway between reverent and shocked.

“Harry,” Harry laughs, “or Andrew. But really please do call me Harry.”

He leans back and sees wonder on Snape’s face. Snape steps back a little.

“You look great,” it sounds breathless but how could he breathe?

“I figured out showering,” Snape looks serious but his mouth twitches and Harry laughs. He’s never been this relieved in his life. With one hand cupping Snape’s head and the other wrapped around his wrist, Harry pulls himself in and places a small kiss on the corner of Snape’s mouth. Where it twitched.

“Came to watch you teach,” Harry explains, “if that’s alright.”

“You bought yoga clothes for me,” the expression on Snape’s face is unreadable, but Harry’s knows his voice. He’s pleased.

“I haven’t done anything but swimming and flying in years, but your website tells me this class is suitable for beginners.”

“You have managed to learn a thing or two about following instructions,” Snape concedes and Harry laughs again. Then the worried-looking girl interrupts.

“Sam, can you please just – ”

“Go,” Harry touches Snape’s face carefully. “We’ll talk at lunch.”

Snape nods once and steps away, dark eyes fixed on Harry as if he might evaporate.

 

Harry changes and takes a spot near the back of the room like he was told. The floor of the studio is a dark polished wood, the walls are white except for the one that is just a large mirror. Harry immediately loves everything about it. Even the colourful fabrics that cover the windows. He can’t help but smile at the sight of them. The room smells clean and pleasant, there is a candle burning in a tall stand by the mirror.

Snape enters the room at exactly eleven and Harry has to suppress a snort. The only thing missing is billowing robes. He stalks to the mat that is front and centre to the room and gestures for everyone to stand up and follow his lead.

Exactly like cooking, Harry soon gets the hang of what’s expected of him, following Snape or the more experienced people in the room. He can let his mind focus on only the movement, only the flow, and he feels strangely free. Snape’s low voice is easy to listen to and when he asks them to repeat a set of movements, he walks through the room, correcting people’s postures. Harry doesn’t jump or flinch when a hand rests on his lower back, leans into it instead.

“There you go, that’s it,” Snape murmurs, and Harry’s body _fits_.

Everybody in the room is making the same steady movements, breathing the same steady rhythm, and it’s not until they’re lying on their backs, eyes closed, that Harry realizes how time flew by. He’s hungry. Someone near him gets up and starts rolling up their mat, and Harry lets his eyes flutter open. Sits. Snape is looking at him, cross-legged in front of the mirror. Harry focuses on the thought of being fucked by Snape while hanging onto the mirror just in case Snape is practising Legilimency. Snape shows no reaction, so Harry gets up and into the showers.

In the shop, dressed in Muggle clothes again, Snape is helping the girl he saw earlier with something so Harry watches him patiently. Snape showered too, his hair hangs down past his shoulders, sleek and still wet. He changed into black cotton trousers and a sleek black turtleneck that covers the scars pretty well. Harry is tying his shoelaces without magic for the first time since he had to teach his kids how to do it when he feels Snape near. He looks up and smiles at the little jerk of his head.

“Yeah. Anywhere you had in mind?”

“I know a place nearby, unless – ”

“No,” Harry gets up and straightens his clothes, “whatever you want.”

 

They walk together close enough to touch every now and then, and Snape holds open the door for Harry when they get to a small-ish café.

“They have great coffee,” Snape explains when they sit down at the only empty table. “And their food is not too expensive.”

“Hipsters,” Harry smiles, and Snape looks at him. Surprised. “If this is too weird for you...” Harry suggests, but Snape shakes no, and that’ll have to be enough for now.

A waiter takes their orders, and as soon as he turns away Harry holds up his hand. Thinks _Muffliato_. Doesn’t realize until after he hears the buzzing around them fade a little that his wand is still in his pocket.

“This ok?” He asks, just to be sure, and Snape nods slowly.

“You don’t seem surprised,” Snape says after letting his eyes flick over Harry’s face again. “Were you expecting it to be... me?”

“Not at all, but in hindsight,” he shrugs, “let me put it like this, when I tell Hermione she won’t be surprised. If you’re alright with people knowing of course.”

“I fled.”

“And I won’t force you to come back. But I have the paperwork for your pardon and your posthumously awarded Merlin’s First Order at my house. Plus, my friends are hardly the entire Wizarding World.”

“True enough,” Snape admits, thanking the waiter for the food and his coffee with a small nod. Harry starts eating immediately, he’s starving and the food turns out to be really good.

“If you don’t want to talk about – it,” Harry says between bites, “we can focus on your trip instead.”

The look on Snape’s face is pure gratitude, so Harry bites. “How was your flight?”

“It was alright,” Snape admits, “long, but not uncomfortable.”

Harry lets his eyebrow arch like he does when his children are being stubborn and gets the first real smile of the day. “It was awful. I hate being around people and would’ve gladly stabbed half of them.”

“There you go,” Harry finishes his hummus by dragging the last of the bread through it.

“There was a child next to me,” Snape’s voice betrays how he feels about children and Harry can’t help but laugh. “It _liked_ me. Kept giving me things.”

“Ah,” Harry swerves the last of his coffee around in the cup like it’s a nice wine, “the generous toddler? Did they want to sit on you?”

Snape nods, pained over-exaggerating expression in place, “he fell asleep in my lap. I spent the rest of the flight worried that I’d fall asleep and drop the brat.”

Harry is laughing properly now, he wishes he could’ve been there. Snape joins in after a second and it’s only been a day or so since they talked on the phone but Harry’s missed that sound and his very bones go _there you are_. The joy he feels comes from his toes and he looks at Snape and lets his body language tell him.

“I’ll go pay,” Snape says, hoarse again.

“I’ll use the bathroom,” Harry smiles, “next time’s my treat.”

Harry steps into a stall, wondering vaguely if Hogwarts has gender neutral bathroom too, does his business, and opens the door after washing his hands. He’s immediately pushed back in and assaulted by Snape kissing him fiercely.

“Not – one – for – ” Harry gasps in between kissing Snape back, “PDA?”

“Did you look up _Cool Words for Dads_ this morning?” Snape teases, undoing the button of Harry’s slacks.

Harry gasps as Snape pulls down his pants too and kneels down on the floor of the bathroom. Sucks him down. All Harry can do is fist his hands into Snape’s hair, lean back, close his eyes, and let bliss take over. He tries to be quiet for no more than a second before casting Silencing Charms, then lets himself moan.

“Fuck,” he pants, “I’m so close, if you – ahhh.” Snape only goes deeper, sucks harder, and Harry knees fail as he comes, stuttering and crying out. He opens his eyes when he’s sitting on the floor, leaning against the side of the too-small space, Snape is leaning against the other wall, their knees are bumping into each other. Harry puts a hand on Snape’s crotch and feels it’s wet. _Ah_ , he grins, ear to ear. The pink on his cheeks tell Harry more than anything else could and he leans in for a kiss.

 

“Wandless?” Snape asks, looking around.

“Yeah,” Harry sighs, “for simple spells it’s better, especially when I’m excited. Otherwise an _Expelliarmus_ might throw a person across the room.”

Snape’s eyes crinkle. Harry prods him with his foot. “Proud of that, aren’t you?”

After a moment of quietly staring at the ceiling, Snape takes a deep breath: “Samuel Prince.”

“Is that so?”

“I changed my name in the Muggle world, it’s not like the Ministry shares their records with Muggle authorities. I had a portkey that would get me to a hospital, figured I might need it one day. I was in a coma for months, then the physical therapist recommended yoga. I started my own studio when I sold the house I grew up in.”

“You’re good at it,” Harry puts a hand on Snape’s thigh and squeezes a little.

“I enjoy it. Teaching something that isn’t dangerous, that people want to learn, running a business. No one knows anything about me.”

“Enter the bane of your existence, Puppy-dog Potter,” Harry smiles. A little sad.

“The dumbest saviour ever known to man,” Snape grins and Harry feels better, “the sexiest dad on two legs. Who finds my jokes funny and my wit appealing.”

“What do I call you?”

Snape shrugs. “Sam is fine. I’ll take Samuel or Severus.”

“Severus,” Harry closes his eyes and leans back against the wall. “I’ve wanted to call you Severus my whole life.”

The sharp kick against his shin has him opening his eyes. “What?”

“Why?” Snape – Severus, looks like that’s an obvious question. It probably is.

“It’s a family name, right?” Harry waits for him to nod, “I always thought so. It’s a pun. _Sevve_ means something like lucky, and _huss_ means egg, so like a blessed child or something, but _sse_ and _hvvessuss_ mean... how do I explain this?”

He looks to Severus’ face to see if he’s following and finds the full focus of deep black eyes is on him. He shivers a little under the attention and rallies.

“ _Sse_ is the equivalent of one, even though I don’t think Parseltongue has other numbers. Just one or many. _Hvvessuss_ is basically a fat prey. I can think of twelve words to describe rats right now, and this is a really good one. One you’d be happy to have.”

“I’m either a blessed child or a fat rat?”

“I’m not making sense, sorry. Maybe – oh fuck.” He feels his eyes widen and watches Severus stiffen in response. “No, nothing immediate, just. You’re going to hex me.”

“Why? What did you do?”

“My kids speak Parseltongue, for some reason, we realized when we found Al chatting up an adder at The Burrow one day, when he was maybe three. I was thinking Lily could explain it better, that you should ask her.”

“Lily?”

“Lily Luna, she’s the one that’s not at Hogwarts yet. And that’s why you’re going to hex me. The boys are called James Sirius,” Severus groans and rolls his eyes, “and Albus Severus.”

“Fuck, you’re right, I do want to hex you.”

“Ironically Ginny and Luna just got married.”

“Your wife made you name your child after – what?”

Harry laughs, taking Severus’ hand. “It wasn’t like that, she asked when she was pregnant with James if we could name the baby Lily Luna if it was a girl, because she didn’t think Luna would make a good godmother but she did want to honour her best friend.”

“And then she left you for her?”

“Luna stayed with us after her husband died, and Ginny came to me after three days, crying her eyes out, told me that maybe she was gay after all.”

“Jesus Christ, Potter, your life is a mess.”

“Harry,” Harry corrects him, “and I honestly wouldn’t know what to do if it wasn’t.”

There’s banging on the door then and Harry bites his lip, he can’t get arrested for indecent behaviour. When he feels something in his pocket he gets an idea, looking at Severus with an expression that he knows is probably scary. He throws a stink pellet into the bowl and Apparates out with a wink. By the time Severus meets him in front of the little café, they’re both howling with laughter.

“You little shit,” Severus bumps his shoulder into Harry and all Harry can do is wrap his arms around him. He’s alive, and they’re here and he’s having a wonderful time. They lean against each other as they recover and start moving again.

“Wait.” Harry stops in his tracks and looks at Severus. “You named your child _Albus Severus_ and have the balls to act surprised when he’s devious?”

“Yeah,” Harry pretends to be rueful, can’t suppress his grin, “I really should have known better.”

They’ve walked all the way back to the yoga store, Harry knows Severus has a class to teach soon. He doesn’t want him to go, though.

“Can I – would you want to see me again?” He can’t hide his hopeful tone. Severus doesn’t answer and Harry feels his shoulders crawl up.

“If you’d want to – Obliviate me or something.” He tries to shrug, pretends to be joking. “At least fuck me first.”

Severus steps closer, foreboding presence, radiating power. He cups Harry’s face in his palms as tenderly as Harry has ever been held and presses the lightest, smallest kiss to Harry’s lips. “Dinner,” he says, softly, “tomorrow.”

Harry nods, looks into his eyes, “Holland Park, number 3.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I couldn't wait. Hope you like it!


	5. Holland Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "“If you’d want to – Obliviate me or something.” He tries to shrug, pretends to be joking. “At least fuck me first.”
> 
> Severus steps closer, foreboding presence, radiating power. He cups Harry’s face in his palms as tenderly as Harry has ever been held and presses the lightest, smallest kiss to Harry’s lips. “Dinner,” he says, softly, “tomorrow.”
> 
> Harry nods, looks into his eyes, “Holland Park, number 3.”"

The next day, Lily is extremely excited when she gets to have dinner at Hugo’s house, Hermione is having a grand old time laughing at him, and Ron is yelling advice over his shoulder while Harry hops from foot to foot. He just came back from work, still has to shower and cook, and he doesn’t _care_ if Ron thinks that the best desert to win someone’s heart are brownies. He hasn’t told anyone about Severus being – well. Snape. It seems like the kind of thing that should stay a secret a bit longer.

“Just get back to cooking for your own family,” Harry whines finally. “I’ll see you guys this weekend. Bye Lily be good!” And he’s gone.

In his kitchen, he checks that he has all the ingredients he needs, then sets up. He grilled the aubergines last night, the pasta dough just needs to be rolled out and boiled, and then he can assemble his lasagne. It’s in the oven in ten minutes, and Harry now has forty minutes to shower, change, and clean up a little.

Right on time, the doorbell rings. Harry’s clean, the lasagne is almost ready, and the whole house smells delicious. Harry opens the door with a grin and can’t help himself from grinning even more when he sees Severus showered and changed too. He looks absolutely edible in his Muggle coat, and his cheeks are cold when Harry pulls him in for a kiss.

“Did you walk?”

Severus follows Harry to the kitchen after hanging up his coat. “I decided to walk through the park.”

That’s Slytherin for ‘I was nervous so I got here early’ and Harry knows it. He pours them both some wine and settles in at the kitchen table.

Severus fidgets a bit, before looking straight at Harry. “Do you really not mind?”

“I lied about my name too,” Harry grins at him.

He rolls his eyes, “my name is legally Sam. I mean everything else. Surely you know how much older I am, what I’ve done?”

Harry leans over to take Severus’ hand. “I got you your pardon, I went through all of your files. I think I might know more about what you’ve done than anyone else.”

“And you’re not bursting with questions?”

The oven is done, so Harry gets up, but not before winking over his shoulder. “I’ll interrogate you after I’ve gotten you drunk.”

They talk over dinner, Severus tells him how he survived by a combination of Muggle medicine and preventative potions, Harry catches Severus up on what’s happened in the Wizarding World over the last twenty years.

“And my... the Slytherins that were in your year?”

“I’m sure they think of themselves as yours too,” Harry smiles again. He would pay real money to see Malfoys face when faced with this alive-and-kicking Severus Snape. “They’re fine, married off, kids most of them. Did you know Crabbe died?”

“Damn. What happened?”

“It’s – ” not really a dinner topic, Harry wants to say, but he hears the Floo in the other room. ‘Sorry’ he mouths to Severus, and he takes care to close the kitchen door as he goes to check on the living room.

 

“Lily?” She looks happy enough, “what happened? Why are you home early?”

“Hugo fell,” she complains, coming over to kiss his cheek. “He was crying and I asked to go home. It was fine before that.”

“Lily,” Harry kneels in front of her. “You remember who I’ve been talking to?”

“Sam?”

“His name isn’t Sam, just like my name isn’t Andrew.”

“Alright...” she can be such a teenager sometimes. Great big huffs and sighs, rolling her eyes.

“Can you promise me you won’t tell anyone if I tell you a secret?”

“Depends, what if it’s too big a secret?”

Harry is proud of her and even more convinced Gryffindors are about to be outnumbered in their house. “You may tell your mum, or aunt Hermione. Is that alright?”

She nods.

“His name is Severus Snape.”

Her mouth falls open a little, and he tugs her into the kitchen by her hand. She follows along, half-way between eager and confused.

“You must be Lily,” Severus says, without getting up. He holds out a hand to her, looking at Harry for permission. Harry nods and nudges Lily closer.

“Hello Mr. Snape, professor,” she says, suddenly a little shy, but she does shake his hand.

“Call me Severus,” Severus suggests.

“Why don’t you go watch some TV,” Harry offers Lily, ruffling her hair and getting pushed away for his efforts. “Should I take that as a no?”

“No,” Lily says, “but you also have to make me hot chocolate.”

Severus stifles a snort behind his hand and draws her attention. They look at each other intently.

“Alright,” Harry laughs, pushing her out the door. She is still fighting some silent battle with Severus it seems, but relents easily enough. She even smiles at Severus before skipping off.

 

Harry feels extra awkward all the sudden, his child in the house, his date right there.

“Come here,” Severus tugs him in so Harry can sit on his lap. It doesn’t help with the awkwardness.

“Her cousin was crying so she wanted to come home,” Harry explains, and Severus just nods. “Do you mind? All this?”

Severus looks around, letting his eyes linger on the drawings along the walls, the family pictures. “I think – I think I prefer it this way.”

“How come?” Harry lets himself lean in.

“You’re not the child I knew, you’ve had a life. We’re different people now.”

Harry hums and gets up to make hot chocolate. “Do you remember the last time she negotiated for hot chocolate?”

“I could never forget,” Severus lets his (sexy sexy) voice drop. “Did you end up burning anything?”

Harry huffs, “if I can brew explosive potions while... Ah.”

Severus is looking at him, one eyebrow raised. He sounds amused, “didn’t mean to give that away?”

Harry laughs and shakes no, setting the dishes to clean themselves, stirring in the cocoa powder for Lily. Severus gets closer, pushes up against him. “Am I,” he breathes, too close, too close, “distracting you?”

The only possible answer is of course an empathetic _yes_ , but it comes out as a strangled groan.

“Let me put her to bed,” Harry begs. “I’ll be done in an hour, please stay.”

“To wait around while you tuck in your child? What shall I do all that time?”

“Fuck, please. Please stay the night. Anything you want. I have books, I have a – a brewing lab. Please.”

Severus switches over to lean on his other shoulder, “I’ll think about it.” His voice is so hoarse, so deeply and insanely sexy. Harry tilts his hips back and pushes and – stops. To breathe. To be able to take Lily her hot chocolate.

 

He is just turning to go back to the kitchen when Severus joins them with a tea tray. He sets it up on the coffee table and kicks off his shoes, curling up in the corner of the sofa. Lily is sitting on the carpet as she always does, so Harry sits down next to Severus.

“Big fan of Disney movies, are you?” Harry teases, and Severus just glares at him.

“Hercules is a masterpiece and if you don’t already know this you should be paying attention.”

Lily throws a Look over her shoulder and grabs a biscuit from the tray Severus has prepared. It even has the matching tea set that Harry’s sure he hasn’t used since the last time he had Molly over for dinner. They watch together for a bit until it’s time for Lily to go to bed.

“We’ll be back to say goodnight,” Harry promises her, while steering her out of the room. In the bath she asks a million questions about _is this your professor Snape_ , _is this Al’s Severus_ , _are you going to kiss him?_ She only pauses for breathing and complaining about what Harry is doing to her hair, and pretty soon he has her in pyjamas. He carries her down the stairs despite the fact that she is getting too tall for it, and stands in the doorway with Lily in his arms in her pink Peppa pyjamas, her hair still wet but neatly combed. He is so aware of how he must look that he doesn’t register Severus’ face for quite a while. He has a distinctly hungry look on his face. Greedy, eager. Lily chats easily with him, safe in her dad’s arms, until Harry jiggles her.

“Time to go to bed, love.”

“Goodnight, Lily,” Severus says.

“Goodnight, Severus,” she answers.

Because his daughter is a star and the gods are good, she consents to one story only, and falls asleep before it’s even done. He kisses her forehead, turns off the light, and closes the door as quietly as he can before warding it nearly to splinters. One-way sound barriers, a chime if the ward is breached, a delay in the door opening. He is just putting his wand back up his sleeve when he notices Severus is standing behind him.

“I turned off all the lights and locked the front door,” Severus breathes into his neck. Harry shivers, feels his knees buckle, but Severus splays a warm hand on his stomach and holds him up.

“Bedroom,” Harry croaks. Severus rolls his hips against Harry and Harry turns around so fast he nearly elbows Severus in the face. They kiss until they’re pressed against the door to Harry’s bedroom and they’re both entirely breathless. Harry opens the door and pushes them through, closes it, and feels Severus step away.

“Christ,” he says.

“Bad?” Harry rounds up on him again, tries to keep kissing.

“You redid the whole house, didn’t you?”

“Brought in furniture from Grimmauld Place and Hogwarts, searched around flea markets with the kids. Wanted it to be mine. Can we keep going?”

“Excuse me,” Severus shoots him a look that freezes Harry on the spot. “I’d like to admire the bed I’m going to fuck you on.”

“Oh shit,” Harry wobbles over to the bed and sinks down. Like he’s been hit with a jelly-legs jinx. “Get over here please.”

This time Severus does obey. He stands between Harry’s legs and cups his face, almost carefully. Kisses him again. “Harry,” he whispers against his lips. Harry feels his chest expand, his heart too big, his lungs too full. He falls back and draws Severus down with him, wriggling around to get out of his clothes and never stop kissing.

“Severus?” Harry asks after he’s had Severus distract or manoeuvre away three times. Every time he tried to get Severus’ clothes off. He stops to rub little circles on his hips so Severus will have space to explain.

“You don’t – understand.” Severus pants against his lips and kisses his way down Harry chest, making him arch with the overwhelming pleasure of _touch_. And, oh gods, that’s his tongue. Harry groans, heavy and deep.

“I understand that I want you to be naked, almost as much as I want to get my jeans off.”

Severus trails a finger over Harry’s erection and it’s almost too much. “Oh, if you – ”

The self-satisfied smirk is all professor Snape. He crawls down the bed a little and bites at the fabric gently, before opening the jeans up. Severus inhales deeply over Harry’s boxers and _shit_ if that isn’t hot.

“ _Severus_ ,” Harry hisses, probably in Parseltongue, and Severus just pushes his trousers and pants down. He makes an approving noise and swallows Harry down all the way. “Oh, Merlin’s fucking – stop!”

Severus pops off, and sits back, on his knees. He looks – edible. Just a little worried, shy.

“Are you alright?” And nothing could have prepared Harry for how his voice sounds now. Deeper and rougher than ever. His hips twitch, his erection bobs.

“Off with the clothes,” Harry decides. “I’m not trying to threaten you but accidental magic is going to start happening soon and I’d rather it be your choice to get naked and lubed up.”

Severus’ eyes flutter closed and a look of pure desire crosses his face. “That – that happens to you?”

“If there’s a spell for getting rid of clothes it I’ve never heard of it, but yes, clothing tends to be replaced with lube when I’m eager.”

“Fuck,” Severus hisses, collapsing on himself a little. “Fuck it.”

With some effort he gets up off the bed, standing on the carpet rather awkwardly. He starts with his turtleneck, pulling it off in one smooth movement that leaves his hair fluffy regardless. He tackles his trousers immediately after and is naked before Harry can process the mess of scars on his neck, across his chest. The Mark on his forearm. The tattoo of a lotus flower on his right thigh. Severus turns around slowly and holds his hair out of the way to show the full length of the pine tree on his back. It’s clearly well done, but shocks Harry anyway.

“I’ve been saving for a – a hind.” Severus turns back around, indicates an area just above his hipbone. “My friend who does them isn’t in the country so I’ll have to fly out for it.”

“Is that what happened to your wand?” Harry asks finally, with a flash of clarity and the memory of a long dark wand. Severus nods.

“I burned it. We used the ashes to make ink for the tree on my back. It – glows. Sometimes. It might be placebo but I think it helps me do wandless magic.”

“Come here,” Harry opens his arms, and Severus steps closer, kneels in front of him on the bed. Harry wraps his arms around him and tackles him down. Kisses him firm and hard. Severus is hard too, eager little noises escape him, and Harry Banishes the rest of his own clothes to the laundry hamper with barely a though.

“Fuck, that’s hot,” Severus groans, pushing into Harry. The touch of skin-to-skin, lean muscle and scratchy black hair, the implied permission to touch and taste. It’s heady. Harry rolls them over so he’s on top and kisses Severus deeply, before kissing his way down his chest. Severus is lean and strong, but his skin is soft. Harry kisses him all over before licking around his balls. The way they respond to him makes him want to stay there all day, to lick, to trail his finger down the soft skin. Maybe to suck them into his mouth gently, but Severus’ cock twitches and now Harry wants to taste that too. He licks carefully. Sucks experimentally and loves the way it makes Severus buck up into him. The little noises he makes. Loves the smell of warm eager man, the taste of salt.

“Come here,” Severus groans, his long fingers wrapped around Harry’s jaw. He pulls him up and flips them over. Hoovers a little over Harry while moving his hand up and down Harry’s aching cock. He doesn’t hold it firm enough to move the skin, it brings no relief at all, even when Harry shifts and groans, and pushes. Suddenly, Severus’ hand is slick with lube and Harry nearly cries at the relief when he squeezes in response.

“Ahh, fuck,” Harry groans, pushing his hips into Severus’s fist, enjoying himself until he realizes he’s not being kissed anymore. “What?”

“You – fuck,” Severus sounds confused, so Harry cracks open an eye.

“I warned you this would happen,” Harry shrugs, pulling Severus in again in an effort to keep kissing.

Severus groans against his lips, “but you didn’t say it’d be _sexy as hell_.”

Harry chuckles and cups Severus’ face, kissing him all over. Sighs when Severus lets go of his cock to play with his balls. Arches a little when Snape says a lubrication spell and rubs against the skin behind Harry’s balls with two fingers, down and _oh._

“Alright?” Severus whispers, sitting up a little, talking to Harry’s stomach. Harry just groans, tries to keep his hands still. “Yes or no question.”

The fingers are gone, Severus is sitting up, “yes!” Harry cries it out, “please don’t stop.”

“Play with your nipples,” Severus’ voice is dark and commending and Harry’s hands follow instructions even without his brain intervening apparently. It feels so good. “Good,” Severus purrs, “you’re doing so well.”

Harry nearly sobs, his stomach twitches and he feels his cock bounce around. As he tries to breathe steadily, both of the fingers slip inside him. Just a little at first, but Harry cries out regardless. “Ahh, Severus, more! Please, I need more.”

Severus kisses his stomach and when Harry opens his eyes to look at him he catches the deep need written all over his face. He feels beautiful and wanted and pinches himself a little harder than intended. Hisses at the pain. “No, you’re not hurting me,” he promises when Severus pulls out a little. Severus pushes in a little further and – _oh_.

“Fuck,” Severus hisses, when Harry leaks onto his stomach. He bends down to lick it off and Harry is going to pass straight over orgasm, this is so good he’s going to die. The fingers inside him, pushing in and out but always right where he needs them, Severus looking fluffy-haired and wild-eyed and sounding like sex come to life. “Gods, you’re stunning,” Severus groans, closing how eyes as if in pain. He holds perfectly still for a moment, and Harry freezes with him. His nipples hurt without being squeezed at this point, his stomach is proper wet with precome and saliva and he is sweaty all over. But he doesn’t move. He pants.

“Severus...” He manages finally, and deep black eyes fly over. Severus kneels between his open legs, pats them until Harry wraps them around his waist. Holds his hips.

Shifts closer.

“Severus, I – ” Harry tries again, “please.”

With a kiss on his sternum and Severus bent over Harry as if in prayer, he finally feels hot heavy cock against him, then closer, painful, but not for long. He takes a deep shuddering breath, feels his whole body, Severus’ too.

“Oh,” he sighs. And Severus sighs too. Perfectly quiet, perfectly still, until long strong hands pull Harry in by the hips and all Harry can do is breach one arm against the headrest, the other hanging onto Severus’ knee under his bum. The pace is slow, and picks up steadily, until they’re both groaning and panting and close. Harry forces himself to look at Severus, and Severus looks back and it’s so good, they’re so close. His hips hurts where there are going to be bruises tomorrow, his legs ache from pulling Severus closer and closer still, the pain in his arm is getting to be too much, so he lets go of the headboard, and pushes his leaking cock into his fist. Severus pounds faster and deeper, and Harry tries to relax and _feel_ it but his stomach is tight and he’s curling up, almost sitting up and then – coming and shuddering and deep raspy breaths.

“Come in me,” he tells Severus and he watches deep black eyes narrow, thin lips snarl, pale cheeks flushed pink until the heat inside him and the way Severus blinks tell him he’s coming too and that too is so, so good. “Fuck,” he pants, opening his arms, pulling Severus in.

“A cuddler,” Severus groans, but he lets himself lean on Harry. “Should have known,” he says, even as he’s kissing Harry’s jaw. Harry spells both of them clean and the duvet to cover them.

“You’ll stay,” he decides.

“The Gryffindor wants to keep me?” Severus teases, but he’s yawning and also definitely snuggling closer now. All Harry can do is hum.

 

At two in the morning Harry wakes up to an empty bed. It’s still warm where Severus used to be. He panics for about four seconds, then hears the toilet flush. _Ah._ He decides to go too, and stands in front of the bathroom door waiting for Severus to come out. When he does, he blinks at Harry.

“Gotta pee,” Harry pecks Severus on his nose, and slips in. Back in the bedroom Severus is under the duvet, pulled up all the way so only the top of his head and his eyes are showing. Harry slides back in and kisses him.

“Cold,” Severus decides.

“It’s November,” Harry answers, wrapping his arms around Severus, who curls into him immediately. It’s dark in the room, it’s quiet in the house. They’re warm and comfortable together. Harry thinks vaguely that it should be strange to want to ask someone you’ve slept with once to move in. Marry him.

“India is warm.”

“You’re not so eloquent when you’re sleepy, are you?”

“’M out of practice.”

“Dealing with dunderheads at all hours?”

Severus laughs against his shoulder and Harry wraps around him tighter.

“How did you end up going to India?” Harry whispers against Severus’ hair, hoping he’s enjoying the quiet intimacy as much as Harry is.

“Herb lady. I’d read about her before. She makes potions with native ingredients, but she’s illiterate. People visit her and try to write some things down, but she knows so much.”

“You wanted to learn from her.”

“Wands can’t be traced outside of the UK. Figured I’d be safe and able to do magic there.”

“Why’d you come back?”

Severus laughs again, “I realized that Voldemort had probably lost the war, considering nothing too horrible was showing up in the Muggle papers. I wanted to come home.” The last part is a soft admission, but Harry gets it.

“I ehm – I worked at a bar, one of those for expats in Mumbai, for months, to make enough money to fly home again. The last time I used my wand was to Confound someone at the embassy to get me a passport and all that. Practiced wandless magic as much as I could so I could leave my wand behind.”

“But you wanted to keep it with you.”

Severus nods. “One of the girls at the bar I worked at was training to be a tattoo artist. She designed the tree, helped me make ink out of the ashes. I doubt she realizes why it was so important to me, but she never questioned it.”

“And when you got home you sold your house and started a yoga studio.”

“And downloaded Grindr, looking for a lay or two. Finally ready to admit to my undying devoting to cock.”

Harry snorts. He feels sleepy enough again, and wrestles around with Severus until he’s in a position he could sleep in.

“Do you still brew?” He asks before the question is even fully formed in his mind.

“Only in India,” Severus mumbles. “That’s what I did while I wasn’t buying knickknacks for the masses.”

 

The next morning, Severus wakes up at six, and so Harry is up then too. “Why are we awake?” He groans.

“My first class starts at seven,” Severus is climbing out of the bed. “May I use your shower?”

“Severus,” Harry whines, then thinks really hard. “Accio spare key.”

“What?”

“Here,” he gives it to Severus, who looks just a tad ridiculous standing naked in the middle of the room, holding the spare keys. “Anything, anytime.”

The pleased little smile Severus gives him lights up the whole room. Which is necessary because it’s early and it’s November and there won’t be any other kind of light for a while yet.

“Come,” Harry decides, getting out of bed too. He herds Severus into the shower. “I’ll suck you off while you wash yourself.”

Severus is hard in seconds and follows Harry to the shower eagerly. They decide to wash each other and Harry is on his knees in front of Severus, soaping up his long legs, soon enough. “I really like this,” he says, touching the lotus on his thigh carefully. “When did you get it?”

“The herb lady, Anjali, she made it for me. She used a little needle and some special herb mix and it took weeks. Said it was healing herbs for my wound and that the tattoo would keep it working for a long time.”

Harry swallows Severus down, and Severus bucks into his mouth. It feels obscene, to be kneeling here, a hand on his head, cock bumping into the back of his mouth, and Harry doesn’t think he’ll ever get enough. He gets to work sucking and licking, remembers how Severus told him he flies with a plug and nearly comes on the spot. With lubricated fingers, he feels around behind Severus’ balls, pushing one in as soon as he finds the spot.

“OH,” Severus head falls back against the tiles with a painful-sounding thump. “Fuck I’ll come.”

“Good,” Harry tries to say. It probably sounds more like _oompf_ , but Severus gets it. With his finger all the way in, sucking as he moves his head up and down, his free hand around the base of Severus’ cock, he can feel every twitch and spasm as Severus gets closer. The fingers in his hair twitch, Severus’ stomach clenches, his thighs tremble as he groans, deep and heavy. The echo loud in the bathroom. He places a hand around Harry’s jaw and pulls out just a little as he comes, crying and grunting, in Harry’s mouth. Harry realizes it’s easier to swallow when Severus isn’t touching the back of his throat, and does so eagerly. Smiles up at him. Severus swipes his thumb along Harry’s jaw. Endlessly tender. Harry leans into it and sits down properly on the tiles.

“None of that,” Severus urges, pulling him up to standing. Putting shampoo on his hair and washing him with such sweet attention. Every now and then he sweeps over Harry’s cock, and by the time he pushes Harry under the showerhead to rinse out his hair, Harry is aching.

He soaps Harry up and traces all of his skin with warm firm hands, lingering over his arse.

“How was it?” He asks finally, his head leaning on Harry’s shoulder, his cock half-hard against Harry’s thigh.

“That obvious, was I?”

Severus chuckles and bites at his skin a little, letting his hands trace where Harry isn’t as sore as he thought he’d be.

“It was good,” Harry promises, “I loved it.”

“I’m glad to hear,” Severus cups Harry’s face to kiss him, and pushes him against the side of the shower, using one soapy hand to slide up and down Harry’s cock. A little too slow, blessedly amazing.

“Ohh,” Harry tries to lean in, but all that does is make Severus step away with an evil grin. “Do you have devious plans for me?”

Severus laughs, “no. I’m going to jerk you off until you come all over me, and then I’m going to go home to change.”

“Or,” Harry kisses, “you could borrow clean underwear, and I can make you breakfast.”

“The jerking off part was good though?” Severus asks, squeezing and twisting his hand. All Harry can do is nod and let it happen to him, squeeze his eyes shut. He feels Severus lean down a little but keeps his eyes closed until teeth close around his nipple.

“Ah, fuck,” he hisses, fucking the loose fist. “Ah please just...”

Severus holds him tighter and Harry feels himself getting closer, the pressure on his nipple eases and then when he’s almost there, Severus bites his other nipple, hard. “Shit, ah, _fuck_ ,” Harry groans as he comes all over Severus’ hand, his stomach, dripping down his legs.

“Merlin,” he laughs, when he sees the mess, and Severus wraps him in his arms so they can stand under the water together. Some half-assed soaping up later, they’re both all the way clean. Harry finds Severus a clean toothbrush in the cupboard under the sink, and Severus sighs happily.

“Wandless mouth-cleaning spells are useless.”

“Yeah,” Harry agrees, trying not to drool toothpaste everywhere, “I always feel cleaner after a brush too.”


	6. Unread e-mail from BT Mobile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Wandless mouth-cleaning spells are useless.”
> 
> “Yeah,” Harry agrees, trying not to drool toothpaste everywhere, “I always feel cleaner after a brush too.”
> 
> (I like to make my chapter summaries the last few lines of non-porn text from the previous chapter, it wasn't much this time!)

The next few days are busy at work for both of them, and Harry ends up having to ask Hermione about his phone bill and how he can make it not be a hundred pounds next month. She howls and tells Ron the story immediately. Both of them tease him endlessly from then on. They do help him get an unlimited contract.

 

Harry tells Severus the story by text. ‘...and then Hermione told me she can’t wait to meet whoever caught my eye so thoroughly.’

‘Harry.’

‘They don’t know it’s you. I was just trying to tell you how dramatic she’s being.’

‘They would if they saw me,’ Severus sends back, and Harry rolls his eyes. Tells Malfoy to give him five minutes to finish texting.

‘So? If you’re not comfortable with that we won’t do it.’

‘You can’t lie to your friends.’

‘Watch me. What is the problem?’ Malfoy grunts and goes to get them more coffee, and Harry laughs. Fifteen years of working together on-and-off have taught him all he needs to know about Malfoy’s morning moods.

‘What if I never want to see them? Are you holding out until I’m ready?’ Oh.

‘Well I want you to meet the kids, but they have had more media training than most Puddlemere players, they can keep a secret.’

‘What if I never want anyone but your kids to know?’

‘Why are we having this conversation by text? Can you call me?’

‘Sorry, no, I’m available only after 8. Do you wish to hold off until then?’

‘No, it’s fine.’ Harry thinks on what to say. ‘If you never want anyone to know it’s you I’m seeing, that would make me unhappy. Is it enough if I promise you I’ll let you know if/when it does? I’m enjoying our secret for now.’

‘That’ll do.’

Deep sigh. ‘Good. Then we’re good. I’ll still call you tonight, but we can talk about fun things instead.’

‘I await your witty banter eagerly.’

‘Just how I like it,’ Harry sends it off. Goes to put his phone away. Changes his mind. ‘They’d be fine you know. Shocked, at first, some of them. But no one would be mean or hurtful. Molly will have you in Weasley sweaters within a year, my friends will let you in on the betting pool in minutes.’

‘You seem confident.’

He is! ‘I swear it’d be fine.’

 

“Hey,” Harry sighs, when Severus picks up the phone. “How was your day?”

“Messy,” Severus admits, with a deep sigh. “I found out three of my employees are dating each other in the worst way possible.”

Harry claps a hand over his mouth. “Oh no.”

“Let me tell you about things I never needed to know about Steph from the front desk.”

“Please don’t,” Harry laughs. “Just come stay over this weekend.”

“You know I still teach classes on weekends, right?”

“Yeah but I’m off work and Lily has a class trip to...” he checks the permission sheet, “Stonehenge.”

“In November?”

“Look,” Harry says, “I don’t ask questions. I accept that she won’t be my responsibility overnight, and I revel in it.”

“I’ll be there. Barring my class-time, that is.”

 

Severus shows up on Friday night with a bag and a bottle of nice gin. He kisses Harry on his way in and goes to look for Lily immediately.

“Lily,” he says very seriously. “What’s your opinion on the Aristocats?”

“I’ve not seen it,” she admits, looking up from the drawing she’s making. “Is it Disney?”

Severus gasps and clutches his heart, pretends to stagger, and Lily giggles.

“Potter,” he decides, and Harry steps closer. “Make us some cocktails please, I’ve a movie to show your daughter.”

Harry laughs and accepts the bottle of gin and the bag, which has tonic, a cucumber, raspberry ice-cream, ginger ale, and cranberry juice. When he joins them in the living room with two GT’s and a very pink drink, Severus is on the sofa, and Lily is spread out on the carpet like a starfish. They’re talking very seriously about a girl from Lily’s class. Severus accepts his cocktail with grace, and opens an arm for Harry to sit down next to him. Lily gets the movie started and loves her cocktail so much she drinks it all in one go and gets a brain freeze. She’s distracted by the movie again soon enough though.

Severus teaches Harry how to order take-out on his phone and Harry thinks for a second that he’s never been this content before. The food comes right as the movie is done, and they eat it on the floor from the cardboard containers, passing them around so they can all taste everything.

“I like spring rolls,” Lily decides, her mouth full of her fifth one. Severus uses two fingers under her chin to get her to eat with her mouth closed and only realizes what he’s done about two seconds too late.

“I apologize,” he tells Harry, and Harry shrugs.

“She eats like a Weasley,” Harry says, laughing when Lily glares at him.

“Let me tell you,” Severus rolls his eyes, “that I’ve seen some truly excruciating eating habits from Potters too.”

“Glad you were watching me as much as I was watching you, professor,” Harry winks, and Severus bites his lip but can’t stop himself blushing.

“Lil,” Harry says when he’s done laughing, “can you explain why Severus is a pun in Parseltongue.”

“Oh,” she puts on her thinking face. “So you know how in English, we call him Al? In Parseltongue we call him _Severus_ , because it means lucky child but also good snack. Or meal? Filling but tasty.”

“Your father mentioned something like that,” Severus nods.

“When we talk about food, we say we feel like a _hvvessuss_ , or _se hvvessuss_. And then Al says oh me too, and we tell him that he’s a _sevve huss_ already. Lucky child. Or Severus. Does that make sense?”

Severus shakes his head, “I don’t even know where to begin though. Let me sit on it for a bit, I’ll have intelligent questions for you in the morning.”

“Okay,” she beams, and he hands her another spring roll.

 

The next morning there’s a flurry of things and stuff and clothes that need to be packed and remembered, and Harry leaves to walk Lily to school with a bag that’s surely too large for a one-night stay. Severus waves them goodbye with an amused glint in his eyes.

“Shall I spell it lighter for you?”

“Nah,” Lily shakes her head, “it’d be hard to explain if someone offers to help me with it.”

Harry kisses the top of her head. “Be good ok?”

“Course,” she hugs him around his waist and runs off to meet her friends. Harry gets her bag onto the bus and chats with her best friend’s dad. They stand together as the bus drives off and wave at the gaggle of excited children.

“How much candy did yours sneak into her bag?” Oscar asks.

“Is that why it was so heavy?” Harry genuinely hadn’t seen her do it. Oscar shakes with laughter.

“Sneaky, yours is.”

“I think,” Harry crinkles his nose. “I think maybe she had help. I’ll go investigate.”

Oscar tells him good luck with a wink, Lily has been telling the whole world that her dad found someone through Tinder too, just like Marius’ dad. Even the teachers have congratulated Harry on starting to date again. With a wave to the other people that he knows, Harry goes to walk home again.

 

“Severus?” he asks, when he’s done kissing him all over. There’s something entirely irresistible about Severus on his sofa, wrapped in his throw, wearing reading glasses.

“Is this about the candy?” Severus asks, and Harry lies down next to him. Laughs.

“No, although well done on that. I was wondering if you want me to get you a new wand.”

“Excuse me?” He sounds a little angry.

“I know you can’t go to Diagon Alley without giving yourself away, let alone Gringotts. It wouldn’t be suspicious if I buy a new wand.”

“Because you’re the head of MLE?”

“No?” Harry leans back to check Severus’ face. “Is that what you thought?”

Severus nods.

“No,” Harry shakes his head, “I’m in charge of my team, which is a good position, but Adrian Pucey has been head of MLE since last year.”

“Really?” Severus leans back so far he almost falls off the sofa.

“Yeah, he’s a good bloke and a great Auror, I voted for him.”

“Damn, he was rubbish at Potions.”

Harry laughs. “Anyway, I could get you the wand because I’ve done it before. We have a fund to buy wands for people that had theirs confiscated by the Ministry in the last year of the war, and I can just write it off as anyone.”

“No thank you,” Severus decides, and he lies back down. That’s not what Harry expected. He seems to hear the question Harry didn’t ask when Harry can’t stop fidgeting. “I don’t want to come back.”

“You love magic.”

“How do you know that?”

Harry isn’t sure, probably the look on Severus’ face when a Potion looked just right, the memory of him holding his wand for the first time. The way he stared at Lily. Lily Evans.

“Look,” Severus sighs and turns onto his side to look at Harry. “I didn’t have a personality at the end of the war. Just the outline of one. I’d been so busy being safe, being respected for my skill rather than sneered at for my poverty and blood, that I genuinely didn’t know what I liked to do for fun.”

“Well, I can relate to that.” Harry frowns. What does this have to do with anything?

“I built it up from scratch. I was in India, and I gave Anjali my little talk on ensnaring the mind – ”

“Senses. Bewitching the mind.” Harry is still frowning but Severus looks at him fondly and kisses him, so he forces himself to relax.

“And she asked me what I liked about Potions. And I didn’t have an answer for her beyond ‘I’m really fucking good at it.’”

“So what do you like?”

“Reading, learning new things, putting two and two together. Doing something that isn’t supposed to be possible. Winning from myself. Watching other people win where they thought they couldn’t.”

“That’s why you teach.”

Severus nods. “I love music, and I had no idea. I discovered at 40 that I like clubbing.”

“What else?” Harry’s a little breathless. He’d never thought about any of this.

“I’m still learning things,” Severus tells Harry’s lips.

“Like what?”

“I want family, people that are near and love me. People I love. My friends are a little spread out over the world, and they’re amazing. I never had friends before.”

“But you want someone to be there,” Harry finishes, he feels that way too.

“I wasted so much time. I spent seventeen years in a stuffy castle doing something that brought me no joy and no peace. I could’ve been climbing mountains.”

“Literal mountains?” Harry grins, and Severus smiles back, wild and in charge.

“And metaphorical ones.”

“I think I get it,” Harry decides, and Severus raises an eyebrow at him. “I’m 38. I have no hobbies besides flying, no friends I haven’t known since I was in school, I couldn’t tell you what my favourite book is, or my favourite movie.” He pauses for a deep breath. “Your yoga class was the first time I felt at home in my body in years.”

“Hanging on to trauma can cause physical pain,” Severus whispers, and Harry nods.

“I want you.” He decides, letting the look on his face show Severus how much he means this. “As my friend, my partner, however you’ll have me.”

“Do friends have sex?” Severus croaks, not managing to hide how affected he is. Harry kisses him.

“I did say however you’ll have me, didn’t I?” Severus winks at him, but Harry isn’t done. “I have the family I wanted, I have the job I wanted. But honestly, I’ve been living the life drawn up by a grieving child. I’m ready for more.”

“I don’t want to be gawked at,” Severus says, “I want to be my own person, I like not having a past.”

“You’ll always have a past,” Harry is frowning again. “Even if you’re the only one who knows it.”

“If you call me a coward, I swear to – ”

“I tell my children you’re the bravest man I’ve ever known, and I’m not in the habit of lying to them. I greatly admire you.”

“But?”

“ _And_ I wish for you to step out into the light with me. Tell the world you lived.”

“Nobody has the right to my private business.”

Harry sits up and sighs. Severus looks fantastic, warm and comfortable on his sofa. Intelligence and power burning in his eyes. “People grieved for you. Are grieving for you. I know I did. We put flowers at the memorial stone at Hogwarts every year. Malfoy is planning the one for this January already.”

“That’s not my problem,” Severus mouth pulls down unhappily.

“I’m not saying that, I’m not asking you to apologize either, I’m telling you that there’s a problem and there’s pain and you have the power to fix it.”

“I’m not some Gryffindor,” Severus drawls, sitting up too. Harry can’t stop himself rolling his eyes.

“Ambition and cunning, Severus. But also fraternity and loyalty.”

“They – ”

“So help me if you are going to say they never did anything for you!” Harry uses his child-you-fucked-up tone, and he’s barely ashamed. “That means nothing and you know it!”

“You are in no position to make demands,” Severus’ tone is ice-cold.

“I know,” Harry deflates, takes his hand. “And I’m not going to make you.”

Severus looks right through him, but he nods.

“Can I keep asking?”

“If you must,” Severus looks down at their hands and squeezes.

“I’ll take that. Can we please get to the fucking part of the weekend?”

A watery smile, but it’ll do for now. “Bath first?”

 

It’s December before they know it. Sleepovers, mostly at Harry’s, sometimes at Severus’ flat above the studio. Dinners, with or without Lily. Severus is great at painting toenails and has endless patience with bedtime stories, as Harry discovers when he finds Severus hoovering outside Lily’s bedroom when he’s finally gotten her to shut up about her New Favourite Book.

“What’s up?”

“If – that’s to say, I wouldn’t mind. If that’s alright with you of course. To.”

“SEVERUS!” Lily bellows, and he looks at Harry with pleading eyes, waiting for permission.

“Of course,” Harry says, “obviously.” He joins Severus in Lily’s room, where she demands to have Severus sit at the end of her bed, and Harry in the chair, and Severus has to read The Book. And he does. Until she’s all the way asleep. Harry gets up to turn off the light and catches the look in Severus’ eyes when he places a hand on her feet under the blanket for just a second.

“Careful,” Harry whispers, and Severus jerks his hand back and looks at him. “She’s a cuddler. She knows not to make people uncomfortable with it if they don’t want to be touched, but she’ll barnacle you if you give her half a chance.”

“Oh,” Severus sighs, and Harry stands next to the bed. Draws Severus’ head to his stomach. Pets his hair.

“She likes you, Severus,” he promises, and Severus heaves a bone-deep sigh.

 

“What are you doing for Christmas?” Harry asks when they’re in bed together. Later. Naked and wrapped around each other.

“I'm more of a Yule kind of person."

“Seriously?”

“Well,” Severus looks at him, “sort of. Mum was. We never celebrated any holidays though. Christmas was always just a day that other people got excited about.”

“James and Al will be back this weekend,” Harry touches Severus’ face gently and carefully. “I’ve no idea what Lily’s told them.”

“I don’t mind them knowing.”

“We normally do Christmas Eve here, with the kids and Gin and Luna, and the next day we go to the Burrow.”

“What are you saying?” Severus asks him, voice endlessly low and just raspy enough to make Harry shiver.

“I want you by my side for all of it.”

“Harry...” Severus sighs, and Harry knows they’ve had this fight, doesn’t really want to have it again, just wanted to be honest. “I’ll need to tell Draco in person, he can’t find out from other people.”

It takes Harry a moment to process, but then he lights up. “You’re kidding?”

“No. Can I borrow your owl?”

“Can we do it here?” Harry begs, “Malfoy knows me, we’re colleagues, please let me be there to see his face.”

Severus chuckles. “Sure. It’ll – ” he takes a deep breath, “be easier for me too, that way. I think.”

“Oh.” Harry takes Severus’ hand and kisses his knuckles carefully. “How do you want to do this? A big reveal at Christmas?”

“Let’s start with your children. Then maybe your friends.”

“Yes,” Harry nods again, “it’ll be fine, I promise.”

Severus sends him the sweetest little smile. “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have so many more ideas for this fic, but I haven't written them yet, so it'll be slower updates from now on! Thank you all who've been reading and commenting, you're amazing.


	7. Calendar: Malfoys for dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Harry...” Severus sighs, and Harry knows they’ve had this fight, doesn’t really want to have it again, just wanted to be honest. “I’ll need to tell Draco in person, he can’t find out from other people.”
> 
> It takes Harry a moment to process, but then he lights up. “You’re kidding?”
> 
> “No. Can I borrow your owl?”
> 
> “Can we do it here?” Harry begs, “Malfoy knows me, we’re colleagues, please let me be there to see his face.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I've not forgotten, don't worry, I just have Big Plans and Very Little Time.

In the end they don’t send an owl, Harry just asks Malfoy and Astoria over for dinner. It’s not something they do often, but it’s also not the first time, so he doesn’t ask questions. Just shows up at half seven with some nice wine. Harry thanks whatever gods are out there for it being a Friday. He can already tell this is going to be a night for more drinking than would be advisable at their age.

“Lily!” Malfoy shouts around Harry after clapping him on the shoulder. Lily comes running down the stairs at top-speed while Harry kisses a laughing Astoria on the cheek. Lily flies into Malfoy’s arms.

“... and then we went to Stonehenge and Adam took a picture of me in front of the stones and then,” Harry hears her tell Malfoy, and he links arms with Astoria. Leads them all into the kitchen.

“Astoria,” he whispers, as she gets wineglasses, and he takes down a fourth one. “I have a surprise and he might not like it.”

“I’ll be right here,” she promises, so he grins at her. Then the doorbell rings. Malfoy is sitting in his usual spot already, Astoria is pouring all of the adults some wine, and Lily is in Malfoys lap chatting a mile a minute.

Harry opens the door to a wide-eyed Severus, whose hair is still wet and in a bun.

“You’ll catch your death,” he urges Severus inside and ignores him when he snorts.

“You’re such a dad.”

“Shut up,” Harry decides, and he kisses Severus fondly. “Get in there.”

He follows Severus, and is just in time to see Astoria pick the wineglass from Malfoy’s hand before it falls on the floor. Lily leaps off of Malfoys lap and runs over to say hi to Severus.

“Hey bug,” he tells her, picking her up for a kiss on her forehead. She wriggles free and throws herself into a chair with a huff.

“Not a bug,” she complains.

“Hey Draco,” Severus says, walking over carefully. Draco gets up and wraps his arms around Severus, holds him so tight that Severus mouths _help_ over his shoulder at Astoria. Who just winks at him.

Draco lets loose some creative swearwords in French, tells Harry he’s a liar and sinks back into his seat. He doesn’t say anything else for a while but when he stops shaking as much, they talk about Lily’s trip, school, her friends. When Lily starts yawning Harry takes her up for her bath and tucks her in with a kiss.

“I won’t sleep,” she promises. “You’re making me miss out on all the fun.”

“It’s a busy day tomorrow, Lil,” Harry tells her. “Please try to sleep, I promise we won’t have too much fun without you.”

“As if!” She whines, rolling over to lie with her back to Harry.

“Night love,” he says, kissing her hair, but he’s waved off.

He joins the adults downstairs and finds that Severus has set the dishes to wash.

“Thank you,” he tells Severus’ hair, and he gets drawn in to sit on his lap.

“How the fuck did this happen, Potter?” Malfoy demands. He’s gotten more used to the idea throughout dinner and probably got most of the story out of Severus while Harry was upstairs, but they didn’t exactly have time to talk about how Harry and Severus met with Lily there.

“A Muggle thing, where you meet people, for sex,” Severus explains, and Malfoy rolls his eyes.

“We all know Grindr, that’s not the point.”

“Well, in my defence,” Harry says, “I had never seen him without his robes before, and his face was a bit hard to see in the picture.”

“I’d never seen you without glasses and with brushed hair before,” Severus throws back, and Harry laughs.

“Took me a while to figure that one out. Contacts and hair brushing, that is.”

“So you just... met accidentally online?” Malfoy is squinting at both of them now, as if they’re hiding some intent.

Harry opens his mouth to answer when he hears bare feet on the stairs.

“I’ve had a dream,” Lily says, her voice small enough for it to be the truth, as she stands in the door opening. Harry sighs and gets up, but Severus puts a hand on his shoulder and swoops Lily up to take her away.

“Do you want to talk about it?” They hear him ask her, and Harry sits back down with a sigh. Gets his wineglass back from across the table.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he tells Malfoy.

“I get it, he told us he didn’t want anyone to know, and this is one of those things you have to see to believe.”

“Besides,” Astoria joins, “the _look_ on his face.”

Harry laughs, and Malfoy lets his head fall onto the table. “You’re fucking professor Snape,” he mumbles.

“Yeah,” Harry leans back and grins, and Astoria laughs with him.

“It’s still a secret right?” Astoria asks, when Severus joins them again.

“We’ll tell Harry’s other children this weekend, and then the rest of his family over Christmas. I wanted you to...” Severus looks at Malfoy in a calculating way, “hear it from me.”

“Thank you,” Malfoy says. “Please come visit us too, this Christmas. I’d love for you to meet my son.”

“What’s his name?”

“Scorpius,” Astoria says, “Harry saved him from being called Scorpius Severus Malfoy, if you’d believe that.”

Malfoy snorts, “and only because Al’s like a week older than him.”

“It would have been awkward at the wedding,” Harry chimes in, and the three of them laugh.

“Albus and Scorpius have a bit of a magnetic relationship,” Astoria tells Severus. “We might be in-laws soon. You’ll see when you meet them, they spend the holidays going back and forth because they physically cannot be apart for longer than a day or two.”

“A Gryffindor Slytherin relationship,” Severus drawls, “at Hogwarts?”

“Oh,” Malfoy laughs, “you haven’t told him.”

Severus looks to Harry, and Harry takes his hand. “Only James is a Gryffindor.”

“Glad you’ve no illusions about that one,” Severus nods to the stairs, and Harry laughs.

“I really don’t.”

In the end Malfoy gets drunk enough to cry and Severus and Astoria have to help him through the Floo. Severus has to promise not to die ever again before Malfoy lets himself be taken away. He looks so lost while patting Malfoy’s hair as he sobs into his shirt that Astoria and Harry nearly pee themselves laughing.

“How was that?” Harry asks, in bed, in the dark.

“Weird,” Severus decides, “I’ve... missed it. Slytherins. People that knew me like that.”

Harry hums against his skin. “Are you alright?”

“No,” Severus laughs, rough and hoarse. “Did you hear Astoria? We might be in-laws soon. Like I’ll stay,” he’s still laughing. Sounds catching in his throat. “Like I’d be welcome to.” This must be costing him. Harry rolls himself on top and kisses Severus until they’re both too busy kissing to think about what all of this might mean. With slow controlled movements they take off the ratty shirt Harry wears, the pants Severus stole and isn’t planning on giving back ever, and they trail fingers up and down each other’s skin. Harry admires the way Severus’ muscles move and shift and gets swatted for it.

“What are you staring at?” The hoarse voice so close to his ear has Harry twisting his hips.

“You’re so fucking sexy,” Harry pants, promises. “So gorgeous I want to keep you.”

“You may keep me,” Severus growls back, bucking into Harry’s thigh. He cries out when Harry wraps his hands around bucking hips and leans down to suck. “Ah, fuck. Harry!”

“What?” Harry sits up. He has to squint to look at Severus, any light too much in his arousal.

“Want you in me,” Snape bucks into the air at the very suggestion and Harry nearly expires on the spot.

“Yes,” he mumbles, his hands already covered in lube, “yes. Yes.” He slides one finger into Severus, _hot_ _wet tight_. Uses the other hand to slick himself.

“Fuck, just fucking do it,” Severus pulls up his legs, holding himself open for Harry. It’s quite possible to hottest thing Harry’s ever seen and he wastes no time pushing in. Slowly. Steadily. Underneath him Severus moans and pants, and Harry holds himself back from coming through pure willpower.

“Alright?” He manages, seated all the way. “Can I?”

“Yes, just, yes fuck me,” Severus holds his legs up again and Harry leans over again, folding him neatly in half. Hangs on to the edge of the matrass to pound into Severus, deep hard strokes. The wet slapping sounds of their bodies coming together make everything better, the blush on Severus’ face as he twists into the pillow makes Harry want to permanently stick him to the bed. He fucks harder, deeper, at Severus’ croaky insistence. “Harder, dammit,” Severus opens deep black eyes, frowns up at Harry.

“Pushy,” Harry sings, but he follows, harder and harder still until his whole body is burning with the effort. Severus’ stomach clenches and twists as he arches his back and takes his cock in one hand and Harry fucks him through it until he’s coming, deep inside Severus. His eyes close as his body keeps twitching, it takes tremendous effort to switch hands with Severus so he can use his flying fist and twists of his hips and his still mostly-hard cock to have Severus come screaming and hanging on to the headboard.

“Ah,” Harry sighs, collapsing all over Severus.

“Heavy,” Severus complains, but he wriggles Harry’s cock out and wraps arms and legs around him. Manages somehow to get them clean and under the covers. Harry drifts for a long time, too tired to focus, thoughts too all over the place to sleep.

 

“Christmas Eve with my ex and her new wife,” Harry counts on his fingers, frumpy and still sleepy, “Christmas Day with my ex’s family, Boxing Day with the future in-laws.” They’re in bed together. Severus’ head is against his chest.

“Then six weeks of recovery in the Bahama’s,” Severus smiles faintly, he’s a little pale, “because of the bolloxing by the Weasleys.”

“Ah,” Harry shifts them around  crawls on top of him, “they’re not so protective as all that.”

“Can I ask you something?” Severus asks, looking stressed again.

“Yeah?” Harry kisses him, eager and sleep warm.

“Why didn’t he hex me? If you’re so close why do you call him Malfoy? Does everyone have a phone?”

“That’s a lot of questions,” Harry decides. “But you’re right to assume they’re all connected.”

Severus kisses him back, “I am sorry for making you my Wizarding World expert.”

“That’s alright,” Harry grins, settles in wrapped around Severus. “First time for everything right?”

“That you know more than me? Absolutely.”

“Ass,” Harry pokes Severus. “Basically, I pushed for the reforms after the war to go the other way, together with everyone else that survived being in the Order. Protecting Muggles and Muggleborns, having classes to introduce students to each other’s home lives, all that. Wizard-Muggle relations is compulsory for all Hogwarts students until third year now, I teach a few classes in March every year.”

“And Malfoy?”

“He’s my partner, an Auror too. We’ve been friends for a long time, but last names stuck and now it’s almost an in-joke. And everyone has a phone, once they’re out of Hogwarts, they’re dead useful if you hadn’t noticed.”

Severus laughs at that, full and throaty. “That they are. Does Hogwarts not like electricity still?”

Harry hums into his mouth and moves to sit on top of him. “Every year someone forgets or tries to smuggle something in. It always explodes the second it crosses the wards.” A loud knocking noise has Harry drop his head to Severus’ chest. “For fucks sake.”

Severus pushes him off and gets them both some pyjamas from the dresser, throwing trousers and a shirt Harry’s way before opening the curtains and windows to let in some fresh air. “Hello dear,” he says when he opens the door to even more insistent knocking.

“Hey,” Lily storms in and jumps straight onto the bed. “When are we going to pick up the boys?”

“Come sit,” Severus sits back down and pulls the duvet over his legs. Lily gets in between the two of them and pats her dad’s head.

“He’s so sleepy.”

“He is,” Severus laughs, and Harry just groans. “Your brothers are taking the train now, but it will take some time to come all the way south. We’ll pick them up before dinner.”

“What about mum?”

“She’ll be here in a few hours, she’s arriving at 11.” Harry pulls Lily’s arm in and bites at it until she’s laughing and slapping his hand away.

“How long is it until 11?”

“Hours and hours and hours,” Severus tells her. “Enough time to....”

“Clean the whole house,” Harry suggests.

“Go to the park!” Lily pushes Harry.

“Do a yoga class.”

“You and your yoga,” Harry complains but Lily perks up.

“Can we?” Harry knows she’s turning big pleading eyes to Severus and knows what’ll be next too. Two sets of eyes turn to him, pleading and carefully nonchalant.

“You fool no one,” he tells Severus. “Sure,” he tells Lily. They look at each other and if Severus’ widening grin is any indication, he’s in trouble.

“There’s a class in an hour that is taught by Fran. She’s good.” In a whirlwind of sudden activity that Harry isn’t happy with at all, they’re having breakfast in their yoga clothes not ten minutes later. “Don’t eat too much,” Severus warns, as if it’s not 7 in the morning and too early by far to eat at all.

“Can I at least have coffee?”

“You’re going to have a hard-enough time after all the wine you had last night,” Severus points out and Harry accepts some more green tea while trying his very best to keep looking angry even though Lily is wearing her PE clothes and a ponytail and looking so very eager. Severus is in his usual yoga clothes, long-sleeved shirt and long soft trousers. Harry’s been commandeered into some of the clothes Hermione had picked out for him. He can't help himself, he's looking forward to this.


	8. Missed call from: Ginevra ICE Weasley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "“Do a yoga class.”
> 
> “You and your yoga,” Harry complains but Lily perks up.
> 
> “Can we?” Harry knows she’s turning big pleading eyes to Severus and knows what’ll be next too. Two sets of eyes turn to him, pleading and carefully nonchalant.
> 
> “You fool no one,” he tells Severus. “Sure,” he tells Lily. They look at each other and if Severus’ widening grin is any indication, he’s in trouble."

“Hello,” the girl at the desk says to Lily after winking at Severus and Harry, who are still taking off their coats and shoes.

“Hello,” Lily greets back. “Are you Fran? I'm Lily, it’s my first time.”

“I am Fran,” the girl says, leaning forward to shake Lily’s hand. “I’ll get you a mat and then you can follow your dad and Sam.”

Lily looks over her shoulder at Severus and stage-whispers: “They call you Sam!”

“They do,” Severus whispers back and Harry and Fran shrug at each other from across the little shop.

“Let’s go,” Harry pokes Lily in the ribs and she swats at him before accepting the mat from Fran, looking comically small next to it. She carries it herself and Harry sneaks out his phone to take a picture. He already regrets that she’ll grow into it at some point. Harry accepts his own mat, argues with Severus about paying for class and gives in when Severus promises he can just pay for lunch sometime.

The class isn’t too full, it being 8 in the morning on a Saturday and Lily is a star, following along with a fiercely concentrated look on her face. Every now and then she turns to look at her dad or Severus. Harry has to focus to catch the flowing movements of the practice, keep his breathing level and deep. Severus is clearly way beyond the class’ level and does variations of the postures that Fran is showing them, even walking around at some point to correct the others. When Harry feels him step closer he has to work to keep his magic from reaching out. The pinch to his neck has him drop his shoulder blades back and suddenly he can _breathe_. He turns to tell Severus thank you and the intense black eyes almost make him stumble. ‘I love you,’ he thinks instead and Severus nods. Black hair is busy escaping the low bun it’s in so Harry pushes a strand behind his ear and goes back to downward dog.

After class Lily is overflowing with energy. “And when we had to do the tree and then Severus showed me how to kick out my leg and then,” she takes a deep breath and Severus uses the opportunity to place a hand over her mouth.

“Lily,” he says, waiting for her to nod. “You feel really energized, don’t you?” She nods again. “Do you think you could imagine that energy as a ball? Concentrate it in your belly?” She frowns and spends the rest of the walk to the alley quietly pondering the idea. After having Apparated them all back Harry is well and truly exhausted and he gets sent upstairs for a bath. He wakes up an hour later to Severus running the hot water tap to get the water warm again, feeling extra grateful for the anti-drowning spells that come with Wizarding baths.

“She down?”

“Like someone cut the strings on a marionette, I put her on the sofa.”

“Thanks,” Harry leans up for a kiss. “Any chance you might join me?”

Severus takes his time to take off his socks, then his trousers. His shirt. Then the underwear that Harry distinctly remembers buying for himself. He turns around to put the clothes away and pulls off his hairband at the same time. The black hair tumbling down his back has Harry gasping.

“Already?” Severus turns back with a smirk.

“Classical conditioning,” Harry explains, “you might remember a specific phone call?”

“What phone call?” Severus gets closer and long lean limbs covered in black hair stretch and move to kneel in the tub in between Harry’s legs. “We had several calls. Was this call memorable for you in some way?”

“You bastard,” Harry claws at Severus to bring him in closer. The water is warm and smells like lavender, the magical bubbles are popping in the air around them.

Severus laughs, deep and throaty, but he lets himself be pulled in. Places a hand at the back of Harry’s thigh, under water. Trails his pinkie finger down and in.

Harry is already hurting and panting, “fuck, please. All I could think about was you fucking me.”

“My voice does that to you, doesn’t it?” Severus rasps, and it does, it really does. Harry arches his back in an effort to get Severus’ hands where he wants them. Needs them.

“Fuck Severus,” he manages, “you sound so hot. You look so hot too. In your yoga clothes, you’re so flexible, so strong, so confident.”

Severus breathes in and out slowly, far too close to Harry’s ear and Harry aches and twists and when his cock finally makes contact with Severus’ stomach, Severus leans back.

“Ah,” Harry complains, pulling at Severus’ arms again to get him closer.

“I’m going to fuck you, Harry,” Severus whispers near his ear, “and you’re not coming until I say you can.”

That’s perfectly alright with Harry, so he suffers through being shuffled around until he is sitting in Severus’ lap, two fingers in his arse, a Cushioning charm protecting his knees from hurting on the bath’s edge. “Severus,” he pants. “Need you in me.”

Severus hums in his ear but guided them both above the waterline so he can push into Harry, not slow, not careful. Harry feels so full, like he could put his hand on his stomach and feel Severus inside, like his lungs can’t expand all the way, until Severus fucks up into him. Gently at first.

“Oh that’s good,” Harry sighs. “Talk to me?”

“You like this,” he hisses, “being held and fucked.” His fingers twitch on Harry’s hips and Harry lets his head fall forward onto Severus’ shoulder. “You crave this, and you look so good.”

Harry can’t help the groan that escapes as his cock brushes Severus’ stomach.

“Oh no,” Severus stops moving, licks Harry’s ear until he’s shivering. “You’re to wait for me, Harry.”

“I will,” Harry promises, “please fuck me it feels so good I won’t come I really won’t.”

“Mm,” the sound rumbles and Harry feels his skin prickle with it, nails scraping the skin of his back. “Nice and tight around me,” Severus continues, pushing back in, slowly. “You know what I wanted to do during yoga?”

“Tell me,” Harry moans, and he should tell Severus to stop because he is getting closer, but it feels so _right_. His whole body is aware of the warmth of the bath, the cold air, the fingers on his skin. The stretch and push inside.

“Push up your shirt,” Severus says, “see if these were still there.” He matches his fingertips to fading bruises. Traces a bite mark.

“Another,” Harry pushes his head to the side so Severus will have full access, and Severus kisses down, far too gently, from Harry's ear. Harry can’t help himself and starts moving his hips, enjoying how Severus feels inside him. With no more warning than a deep breath in teeth sink into his shoulder and Severus holds on tight while Harry rides him, deep. The pain is exquisite and Severus is all the way in him and Harry comes without warning, groaning and crying.

“Thought we had a deal,” Severus chuckles, licking at the new mark.

“Sorry,” Harry pants, “too good, too fast.”

“It’s quite alright,” Severus promises, and he fucks up into Harry, punishing and hard, and right before Harry really gets too oversensitive, he gets to watch Severus come. Sees it play out on his face, like relief and anguish. Gets to kiss him as he relaxes again. As they slump against each other, laughing a little at the intensity.

“I have to go,” Severus whispers into his hair.

“I know.” Harry kisses him again. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“I’ll do groceries on the way back, let me know if you need anything.”

“Severus,” Harry wrinkles his nose. “You’re still in me, sexy talk only please.”

Severus leans closer to his ear and lets his voice drop to a sultry rumble, “tortellini.”

They’re still laughing when they’re doing showering off and getting dressed, and Lily shoots them her Most Annoyed look from the sofa until Harry tells her she should go shower and get dressed so they can have lunch. Severus leaves them both with a kiss, and then Harry gets to finally clean up before they’re hosting dinner tonight.  

 

Ginny and Luna meet them outside the train station. They both look exhausted from the trip but happy to see them, and Harry catches up with old school friends while Lily hugs her mum and tells her a thousand stories.

“I see the boys,” Malfoy tells Harry, “they’re near the front, but they saw me so they’ll walk over.”

“James made the team this year so he’ll probably be sitting with them.”

Lily sees him first, and pushes through the crowd to punch him in the arm real hard. “What the hell Lily, what’d I do?” They hear him say, and Gin winks at Harry.

Albus comes to hug them first, then rounds on James with Lily. They whisper at each other furiously, huddled together, and when James notices Scorpius hovering nearby, he pulls him in too.

“Did he even say hello to you?” Ginny asks Astoria, and Astoria laughs.

“Hi-mum-bye-mum,” she says, in a fair approximation of what Scorpius sounds like.

“Alright, spawn!” Ginny decides, “we’re off, say your goodbyes.”

Luna takes Lily’s hand and James talks to his mum, and they wave their goodbyes. Most of these people they’ll be seeing next week at Christmas anyway. Albus sidles up to Harry rather quietly.

“How are you?” Harry asks. “Did you manage to get all your work done like you wanted to?”

Albus just nods. “We got homework for the hols of course but it will be alright. I invited some people to come over if they need the library after New Year’s, if that’s alright.”

“Of course,” Harry promises, “just let me know and I’ll make sure to have enough food to feed a hoard of almost teenagers.”

“Can I...” Al starts, then seems to change his mind.

“If you can wait until the train is here,” Harry whispers, “we can sit a little ways away.”

“Yeah I’d like that.”

The underground arrives but Al doesn’t talk until after they’ve changed trains and are sitting down, away from the rest. “Al,” Harry nudges him with his knee.

“Scorpius has a girlfriend,” Al whispers finally, and Harry wraps an arm around him. Let’s him lean in. He hears Al sniffle and kisses his messy Potter hair.

“Is she not nice?”

“No,” Albus sniffles some more, “she’s our friend. She’s nice. But he sits with her in class now.”

“Do you sit alone when he sits with her?”

Al shakes his head, “Nat used to sit with Pippa so I sit with her now.”

“You can tell Scorpius that you’ve been friends since you were babies and you’d like to sit with him in class, right?”

“I know,” Al looks at him with soulful brown eyes. “I just feel sad.”

“And that’s allowed, love,” Harry promises. “If you want to practice what to tell Scorpius, or if you want any help at all, you can let me know.”

Al nods, and then Lily walks over and drags him into a conversation about someone they went to primary school with, and Albus perks right up.

 

“Gin,” Harry tells her when he’s unlocked the door and the kids are throwing coats and shoes around like confetti. Lily has noticed Severus’ coat and drags her brothers through to the kitchen. Al had distracted him from worrying about what’s coming next, but he really doesn’t know how Ginny is going to react. He nods to the living room instead.

“Should I?” Luna asks, and Harry shakes no.

“Come along, it’s not a secret.”

They’re all standing awkwardly on the carpet and Harry notices all the little things around him that have just become a part of this space, Severus’ reading glasses on the table, the extra pair of slippers under the sofa. “You’re making me nervous,” Ginny warns, so he stops fidgeting and looks at her.

“I’m seeing someone,” he starts, and she makes a ‘go on’ motion with her hand. “We met on one of those Muggle phone things.”

“And you’re bringing him to Christmas at the Burrow because it’s serious, I know all this.”

“He’s not a Muggle.”

“Ahh,” Luna says, like that explains everything, and maybe she’s somehow put two and two together. Or maybe it’s obvious from his aura.

“Severus Snape.” Harry says finally, “I’m in love with Severus Snape.”

“Merlin's fucking...” Ginny sinks down into the sofa and Luna just pets her hair awkwardly. “Holy gods,” Ginny says after another uncomfortable stretch of silence.

“Gin...” Harry tries, but she stands up resolutely.

“Let’s go see him then.” Ginny leads the way to the kitchen, Harry and Luna following. Severus is sitting in his chair, Lily in his lap, Al and James sharing one chair to his left, all the kids leaning in eagerly. He looks up at Harry and smiles. Worried. Ginny walks over, shakes his hand, and plops down in a chair to his right. “It’s good to see you again,” she says, and he shifts Lily over so she’s just sitting on one of his legs right before Luna sits down on the other.

“I’m really sorry,” he whispers to her, and she nods against his collar.

“You needed it.”

“I’m still sorry I didn’t get to keep my promise.”

“But you did,” she blinks at him, pale wide eyes, “you protected me while you were there, and when you were gone you’d given me the tools to protect myself.”

Severus pulls her closer again. “I have a picture of a Freshwater Humdinger,” he says finally, and Luna leans back with the biggest grin Harry’s ever seen on her face.

“You thought of me.”

Severus pulls a face like he might cry and seems to finally notice that everyone’s staring at him. “Indian. I got back early and cooked, but I only realized halfway through that I don’t know if you like Indian food.”

“’Course we do,” Harry promises, dropping a kiss on Severus’ hair as he walks past to start orchestrating the children to wash their hands, set the table, get the food and wine distributed appropriately.

Dinner is chaotic and perfect and Harry feels so overwhelmed with gratitude when the kids cheer at the prospect of chocolate cake for pudding that he has to blink back tears. Severus catches him at it and just winks, pouring him some more wine.


	9. Hey Siri, how do I take a screenshot?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Indian. I got back early and cooked, but I only realized halfway through that I don’t know if you like Indian food.”
> 
> “’Course we do,” Harry promises, dropping a kiss on Severus’ hair as he walks past to start orchestrating the children to wash their hands, set the table, get the food and wine distributed appropriately.
> 
> Dinner is chaotic and perfect and Harry feels so overwhelmed with gratitude when the kids cheer at the prospect of chocolate cake for pudding that he has to blink back tears. Severus catches him at it and just winks, pouring him some more wine.

The next few days are blessed chaos. There are far more people in the house than usual and Harry loves it. Severus gives them some space to readjust to each other, and Harry plays games with his kids, catches up with Luna and Ginny, and goes to a forest to chop down a tree with three loud children throwing snow at each other. It takes almost four hours to pick a tree and cut it down, but they all come back soaking wet and grinning to Gin’s famous apple pie and when Harry has unshrunk the tree and is settling it in the sitting room, he hears Lily talk in the hall, probably on the phone.

“Yeah, you should be here,” she says, and he has no idea who she could be talking to. “Class is not as important as Christmas!” She sounds incensed the way only ten-year-olds can and Harry grins. When he’s walking past her and up the stairs for a shower he hears her again, much gentler now, “it wouldn’t be the same without you here, Sev.” His shower takes more than an hour and he cries the whole time.

Severus rocks up with his usual flair, ingredients for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails, and Harry sees right through it. “I’m glad you’re here,” he whispers into Severus’ neck, on the good side. Severus sends him a sweet half-smile and pulls through the rest of the night on bravado.

“You’ll read to us, right?” James asks, when Harry’s finally convinced them that it really is bedtime. “Severus?”

“What?” Severus looks up, “if you wish.”

“Lil’s been bragging about you for months,” Al chimes in, “I think we’ll do...” The kids look at each other, hiss so quietly Harry can’t follow either, “The BFG.”

“Alright,” Severus holds out his hand and Al shakes it, then the four of them disappear upstairs. Harry talks to Ginny for a bit longer while Luna reads, and when he goes upstairs, he finds the four of them asleep in Al’s bed.

“Hey,” he whispers, carding his fingers through Severus’ hair. Severus blinks himself awake. Looks immediately guilty.

“They wanted so many chapters,” he whispers, sitting up carefully not to jostle Al who was lying fully on top of him.

“That’s because they like you,” Harry promises, “you’re alright, don’t worry.”

Severus looks up at him, and then around at the sleeping children. That is, James and Lily look to be asleep properly, but Harry’s not too sure about Al. “I like them very much, too,” Severus looks back up at Harry, obviously worrying.

“You get to,” Harry keeps playing with Severus’ hair, scratching his scalp a little. “No one is going anywhere.”

Severus sniffles, then climbs out of the bed. “Should we move them?”

“Nah,” Harry takes the covers from the spare bed James has been sleeping on and covers them with it. “They’ve brushed their teeth, they’re in their pyjamas. If Al starts kicking in his sleep again they’ll just move themselves.” He sees the corner of Al’s mouth move and knows for sure now that he’s not sleeping.

Severus holds his hand out and Harry takes him in, wraps his arms around Severus’ waist. “I love my children, Severus,” he tells Al and Severus. “And I love you.”

Severus picks him up without ceremony and carries him from the room, taking care to close the door carefully, nodding to Luna and Ginny as they pass each other in the hallway. In Harry’s bedroom, Harry gets tossed onto the bed, and Severus climbs up and hovers over him.

“Strange man,” he decides, kissing Harry fiercely, “bizarre, odd, incomprehensible.”

Harry is laughing now, at the smacking kisses all over his face, the giddiness of being in bed with Severus Snape, of having found him, the full feeling of joy where there was grief and a lack of closure.

 

Three days later, Severus is plucking at his turtleneck in the mirror, tying his hair up before letting is down again, while Harry rushes through the house to get himself and all the children dressed. “Just sit down and have some coffee,” Harry orders, and Severus nods, tense and unhappy. As soon as he sits down, Al’s cat Muffin joins him at the table, which means he’s covered in orange cat hair, all over his nice clothes.

“Hey Sev,” Lily calls when she walks into the kitchen, wearing her new dress. “Can you braid my hair?”

“Yes,” Severus sighs, and Harry winks at Lily before running off to help Al find the shirt he wants to wear. When he comes back down, Severus is braiding Luna’s waist-long hair, endlessly careful with her, and Harry decides James can find his own shoes. He sits down and pours himself some coffee.

“How do you two know each other?”

Luna leans back on Severus’ thigh to look into his eyes, and then back down so he can keep braiding. “She was being bullied, so I taught her my toenail growing hex.”

“And then he never fooled you again?” Harry looks at Luna, who seems entirely content to have someone play with her hair, the mug of tea in her hands steams flowers and swirls. She nods. “Severus protected me, and taught me how to protect myself.”

“All done,” Severus whispers, tugging at the end of her braid lightly. It seems to have calmed him down a bit, and Harry sends off the rest of the family first.

“If you need out, at any point,” he starts, pushing loose hair away from Severus’ face, “any point at all.”

“Thank you,” Severus looks up at him and grabs his arse. Squeezes until Harry yelps and laughs. “I literally cannot defend myself,” he spreads his hands to show he doesn’t have a wand, “but I trust your shield charms.”

“I’m a natural,” Harry grins, and they Apparate to the edge of the property together, walking through the snow hand in hand. It’s colder here then in London, and he’s glad for their coats, for Severus’ warm hand.

“Oi, Harry’s here!” They hear Ron shout from the garden, “and his bloke!”

Ron and Hermione come around to the path Harry and Severus are on, and Ron’s mouth falls open, but Hermione starts cackling madly. Severus flashes Harry a look eyes wide and wet in panic, but Ron breaks through the confusion first.

“Welcome back,” he says, sticking out his hand. Hermione follows, and draws Severus into a conversation about the effects of separating the flowers from the stems before adding camomile to a Calming Draught.

“Were you the first ones here?” Harry asks Ron, and Ron shakes no.

“Charlie and the kids slept here, Gin and yours are inside.”

“I know, I helped them Floo out, but I figured this might be easier,” Harry nods to Severus. “He’s a tad nervous.”

Severus hears him and glares back over his shoulder, which has Ron freeze in place. “Mate,” he sighs, “this is going to take some getting used to.”

 

Ron is right, it is a little awkward, especially with George, but Harry’s kids are wonderful, Severus gets along with Rose like a house on fire, and he even helps Molly in the kitchen. Harry was right too, and when they’re sitting in front of a roaring fire, all too full to move, Harry and Severus crammed into an armchair together, the children spread all over the floor, a crinkly gift gets passed along. Severus opens it carefully, elbowing Harry in the side when he tries to help, and stills when a deep, forest-green sweater falls out. It’s a little lumpy, and it has a silver-coloured crown on the front, and Harry looks between Lily and Molly, who are both looking entirely too pleased with themselves.

“Samuel Prince,” Lily says, proud as a peacock.

“I figured it out immediately, of course,” Molly grins at her over the head of Charlie’s youngest. He doesn’t speak much English yet, but he took to Molly like all children do, and her Romanian has gotten much better over the years.

“What gave it away?” Severus whispers, trying to put the sweater on without kicking Harry out of his lap. It fits just right.

“This one has loved you since he was sixteen,” Arthur pats Harry’s knee and everyone laughs as Harry turns bright red. Everyone but Severus, who looks as if he might need a sugary drink and a lie-down soon, so Harry tells Louis to pick the next present instead. Severus buries his face in Harry’s neck, and Harry shields him, lets him recover.

 

When the presents are handed out, and the kids are playing a variety of games, Harry drags Severus out into the garden. It’s cold, but it feels nice after being packed into the Burrow’s sitting room.

“Teddy and Andromeda usually pop by for a drink,” Harry warns, but Severus seems beyond words. “Do you want to fuck me in the shed?”

Black eyes see right through him but Severus’ lip curls up and Harry grins back, and soon they’re running and laughing, trying to kiss while making their way through the yard. The shed has warming charms, and Harry pulls his trousers and pants down without ceremony and leans down over the table. “Put it in,” he suggests, and Severus trails a warm hand from his lower back to his thigh instead. The touch feels delicious, but Harry is starving. He wriggles for contact, “please.”

“Such pretty words,” Severus rasps, two hands on his arse now. He pushes Harry’s sweater and shirt up, and kisses down his spine, wet, deep things. Hungry and eager. Harry can’t stop himself pushing back into Severus’ faces, couldn’t stop his noises if he tries. Severus licks wet stripes over his arse and Harry feels himself twitch at the chilly air.

“Oh Merlin,” he cries when he realizes what Severus is going to do, “please no, please just fuck me.”

“You sure?” Severus asks between licks, long broad, hot and cold, Harry is almost sobbing with the need, it hurts when he breathes, it wants out through his chest. “I could of course...”

“Yes!” Harry cries, his hips jerking back and forth, but there is nothing to provide friction to his aching cock. He feels a huff of warm laughter against his arse, and then the push of one finger into him. It is exactly what he needs, and not enough at all, and he sobs at the frustration. “Please, please, please,” he mumbles.

“Please what?” Severus one hand is moving his finger in and out, his other one is still on Harry’s arse, keeping him spread open, and that means he’s not currently _getting his cock out_.

“Fuck! Me!” Harry whines, wriggling for emphasis. Severus laughs again and Harry stomps his foot, “come on!”

“How do you want to be fucked?” Severus whispers, husky and hot, right into Harry’s ear. _Hard._ The warmth of Severus front all along his back just makes him ache more and much as Severus has lovely hands, one finger just isn’t enough at all.

“Ah,” Harry cries when Severus brushes his prostate. His knees buckle and Severus uses his free hand to wrap around Harry, to keep him up.

“How do I know you’re sure? That it’s me you want?” Severus teases, still moving his finger in and out agonizingly slowly. Harry’s stomach is hurting from the need to rut against something, “maybe you’re just in it for my penis?”

“Marry me,” Harry babbles, absolutely unable to filter himself anymore. “Move in, fuck me day and night. I’m rich, we can quit our jobs, please, just please.”

Severus withdraws his finger and that’s just worse, but he reaches, and Harry hears a zip and thinks _lube_. He hears Severus swear and knows he has probably Conjured an obscene amount. He would tell him he’s lucky his trousers didn’t get vanished, if he had any words left. With a quick kiss to Harry’s ear that has him shivering in anticipation, Severus pushes into him in one long stroke.

“Exactly that,” Harry groans, arching back in relief. The burning stretch, the wetness of the lube, even the faint smell of sawdust, all of it is working for him right now.

Severus puts a hand between his shoulder blades and Harry hangs onto the table for dear life when Severus starts pounding. “Can you – ” Severus is panting and Harry’s only a little proud that he did that to him, “mnot gonna last.”

“Harder,” Harry demands, and Severus follows.

“Can’t fuck you and hold you,” Severus’ voice is so deep now, so rough, that Harry nearly comes on the spot. Instead he wriggles his shoulder down against the table so he can hold his aching cock. The moan he lets out at the feeling of it in his hand is probably loud enough to be heard in the house, but at this point he couldn’t possibly care less.

“Close,” he tells Severus, and Severus tightens his hands around Harry’s hips in response. They come almost exactly at the same time, twitching and crying, both definitely sweaty.

With Severus draped over his back, Harry wriggles feeling back into his hands. Performs a lazy cleaning spell on himself that has Severus jerk out of him. “Oof,” Harry grunts.

“Sorry,” Severus apologizes with a kiss to Harry’s nape. “Startled me with the spell.”

“Yeah,” Harry stands up just in time to see Severus tuck himself away again. They’re both in their coats. He knows he’s grinning like he’ll never stop and leans in for a kiss when they both hear the distinct popping noises of Apparition. “Teddy and Andromeda, I’ll bet.”

“We look a mess,” Severus looks Harry up and down, and laughs when Harry just kisses him again.

“I have an idea,” Harry promises, “and you’re not going to like it.”

Severus lifts one eyebrow, and Harry nicks his scarf and runs out of the shed. He’s chased immediately, and knows they must both look stupid, trying to run through knee-deep snow.

“Hiya Harry!” Teddy screams across the yard. Harry stops in his tracks and spells a whole mountain of snow into balls. He makes three hit Teddy in rapid succession, and to his surprise, it’s Andromeda that retaliates. She spells her own mountain of snowballs and they come for Harry even when he ducks away.

“Hey,” Harry cries, when Severus just doubles over laughing. He tosses Severus his own wand, “be useful!”

Severus hair raises with the glow in his eyes as he takes the wand, and with an elegant twirl he starts firing off snowballs in the direction of Teddy and Andromeda. Harry helps him, wandlessly, and soon people start crowding out of the house to join them. It’s too cold for the fight to drag on long, and soon Teddy and Harry are shaking hands between the two strongholds as a symbol of the truce Molly forced them into. Harry kisses Teddy on the cheek and goes to greet Andromeda.

When they’re taking off their boots in the hallway, Molly looks at all of them disapprovingly. “You’re all sweaty and wet,” she complains, and Harry and Severus make the mistake of looking at each other. Before he knows it they’re hanging onto each other, laughing madly, surrounded by people with red cheeks from the snow or embarrassment.

 

That night, in bed, after the children have finally been wrangled into bed, Harry wraps Severus up in his arms. “Sorry for that,” he whispers, “didn’t mean to embarrass you in front of everyone.”

“You’re the one that asked me to marry him during sex,” Severus points out and he sounds smug.

“I did, didn’t I,” Harry laughs. Kisses Severus’ hair. “I meant it, you know. Not today or this week, not ever if you don’t want that.”

“My employees,” Severus sounds rough and tired, “Fran is pregnant, not very far along. But. They want somewhere bigger for the four of them.”

“Yeah?” Harry’s not sure what this has to do with them, but he’d happily listen to Severus read out dictionaries for the rest of his life, so he’ll wait for the point to come.

“My apartment above the store would fit four people,” Severus hesitates as he says it, and Harry starts to see where this might go. “Especially if three of them are disgustingly in love.”

“This house might have space for a grumpy bat,” Harry muses, and he gets pinched in the leg for it.  They both laugh, lean back to see if the other is serious, and kiss like two people disgustingly in love.

 

The next morning, they Apparate to the Malfoy Manor, and walk across through the gates in a procession. Ginny and Luna in front, the kids whispering furiously between them, Harry and Severus behind. Malfoy comes out to stand on the front step, and Astoria joins him soon.

“Where’s Scorpius?” Harry asks, when they’ve greeted each other. Malfoy looks around to see if anyone is listening in, then bends down dramatically to whisper in Harry’s ear.

“Last I checked, doing his hair.”

“For the girlfriend?” Severus pops up next to Harry and keeps his voice low too.

“Apparently,” Malfoy whispers, checking again to see that everyone else has gone inside already, “her parents want her to wait with dating until she’s at least sixteen.”

“What a shame,” drawls Severus, in the most sarcastic tone Harry’s ever heard him use. His heart grows three sizes at how invested Severus is in his son’s wellbeing.

“Dad!” Lily hollers from inside, “dad!”

“We have presents,” Malfoy explains, fixing his clothes, straightening his back. “Be ready.”

They unwrap presents together, then settle around a big table for lunch. Scorpius and Albus are sitting as close together as ever, and Lily and James are interrogating Severus about cool terrifying beasts he’s come across.

“Wait,” Albus seems to catch a bit of the conversation and leans in eagerly. “Teddy says you were almost killed by the biggest snake that ever lived!”

“You saw Teddy?” Scorpius gasps, turning to Albus like he’s committed a grave sin. Severus looks to Harry for help and Harry shrugs.

“Teddy’s got fans.” That’s not really it, “they’re very good with children and really exceptionally funny and kind. I don’t know anybody that doesn’t like Teddy.”

“I didn’t get a chance to really chat yesterday,” Severus admits, and he seems to actually regret it.

“I’ll invite them over for dinner sometime this week,” Harry kisses Severus and hears James make a gagging noise. They laugh and do it again.

“Lucky,” Scorpius mopes. “Maybe they’ll wear the yellow hat again.”

“Yeah,” Al grins, and Harry kicks him under the table. “Maybe you could come too?”

Two bright grins turn to Harry and Harry nods.

“Now about the snake,” Severus lets his voice drop, so that it sounds extra raspy. “Are you ready to see some gnarly scars?” The kids cheer and Malfoy leads the adults that aren’t making Nagini sound like a small dinosaur to the sitting room.

“He’s actually showing them,” Ginny says, with a look over her shoulder.

“Kids,” Astoria shakes her head. “We’re not meant to understand them.”

“Say that again!” Harry complains, “remember when we offered Al an owl and he asked for a _cat_ instead?”

Luna rolls her eyes and pats Harry on the head patronizingly before joining the kids and Severus. “Can you tell us about the Freshwater Humdinger?” They hear her say, and Harry and Gin exchange a delighted grin.

“How’s he holding up?” Astoria asks, nodding to the room.

“Al?” Harry accepts the drink Malfoy pours him. Something smooth and expensive probably, he’s learned to trust Malfoy’s taste. “Heartbroken, but I think the break-up will help.”

Malfoy laughs, “she means Severus, I think.”

“Oh!” Harry pats Astoria on the knee, “of course you do. He’s scared shitless every time someone moves a little too fast. If he’d had a wand he would’ve hexed the shit out of George I think.”

“George went after him?” Ginny leans back with her drink, kicks off her shoes and gets comfortable.

“No, not at all,” Harry follows her example and gets comfortable on his own sofa. “He wanted help with one of his potion-based pranks.”

Astoria frowns. “Poor thing. Was today any better?”

“I think so,” Harry looks through the gap between doors and sees Lily in Severus’ lap and the other kids leaning in. “He thinks we’ll force him to attend his own memorial in January.”

“If you don’t I will!” Ginny sits up, her eyes blazing, “I know I missed last year, but at least Bulstrode. And Filch! Someone has to tell Filch to stop showing up.”

“Remember McGonagall, last year,” Astoria says, softly, to her husband. Draco takes her hand and squeezes it.

“I don’t think he understands,” Malfoy says, “how sorely he was missed. Is missed.”

“We’ll get there,” Harry promises, then points at Ginny. “And I’ll thank you to let him take however long he needs.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she mumbles, but she waves him away and Harry knows she’ll do whatever she wants. He’ll have to work the Luna angle instead.

 

When they get home again, Severus dithers in the hallway as everyone else rushes upstairs, and Harry wraps his arms around his waist. Severus smells warm, like his cologne. His nice clothes are probably the height of fashion but Harry longs to be comfortable instead.

“What is it?” He whispers between Severus’ shoulder blades.

“What happens now?”

“That depends,” Harry hangs on tighter at the roughness in Severus’ voice. He spent hours talking today. “You can teach my children how to brew that magical hair dye you were talking to George about.”

“I think not,” Severus rumbles, but he sounds like he’s smiling.

“We can fuck until we’re sore?” Harry suggests, and Severus nods.

“I like that better.”

“We could get into our pyjamas and gather everyone in the living room for a movie?” Severus stands up taller immediately so Harry slaps his ass and kisses his cheek on his way past him. “You pick the movie,” he tells Severus. “I’ll tell the others.”

His whole family in the living room, draped over sofa’s and sprawled out on the carpet. The cat all over Severus, endless amounts of popcorn passed around. Robin Hood on the television. Who’d have known?

 

“So what does your Grindr profile look like if it manages to get Severus’ attention?” Ginny asks, leaning over, when the kids have been tucked in.

“First of all, I resent the insinuation that I had to catch his attention, thank you very much – ” Harry starts, and before he can tell her that they’ve both deleted their Grindr accounts, Severus chimes in from the other room.

“He promises a cock-sucking so good it’d feel like an exorcism!”

Harry’s mouth falls open but Ginny and Luna nearly fall off the sofa laughing. “What was yours then?” Ginny shouts back, to be heard over the clattering of dishes.

“Clearly he promised to ensnare my sense,” Harry jokes, and they all hear the snort from the kitchen.

“You’re the only one that remembers that speech verbatim,” Severus teases, and then he walks in with a tray full of beautiful cocktails. “No cranberries for you,” he hands one to Harry, “the full works for Luna, and no sugar for Ginny and me.”

He sinks down onto the sofa gracefully and Harry hauls him in for some snogging.

“Get off,” Severus protests, but he laughs as he kisses back. “Stop attacking me.”

“Anyway,” Harry turns back to the girls. “I’ve deleted my profile so I can’t show you mine, but I can show you his?” He fumbles around with his phone for a minute and leans in to show it to Ginny and Luna, when he turns back, Severus’ mouth is hanging open.

“You screenshotted me?”

“Yeah,” Harry frowns, “I learned _how_ to screenshot for this.”

Ginny is cackling at ‘don’t talk to me if you’re stupid’ and Luna is telling Harry that he should have recognized Severus from the tilt of his head, and of course she's right, but all Harry sees is Severus’ fond little smile, the light dancing in his eyes. The grin widens a little, and suddenly Harry’s done for the night.

“Alright, we’re off,” Severus announces, and Ginny laughs harder.

“Young love!” She sings, leaning back into Luna’s arms.

“Yes bye,” Harry croaks, and he follows Severus out the room, up the stairs. They steal glances as they walk, brush their teeth together quietly, get completely naked before crawling into bed.

“Come to India with me,” Severus whispers hoarsely.

“Yeah,” Harry nods, and they’re close enough in the dark that he knows Severus will be able to feel it. “Merry Christmas, love.”

Severus crawls in even closer, and bites at his shoulder hard enough to hurt. Harry knows it’s meant to be affectionate, so he just pulls Severus in by his jaw and kisses him long enough that they melt together. In the dark, it’s hard to tell where he begins, where they’re touching. Everything is warmth, all is bright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! I'm working on an epilogue about the trip to India, but it's very early stages. Is there anything you think I should include in there? Any loose ends you're missing? Scenes you wish we would've had?  
> Thank you to everyone that's been reading along and especially to everyone that's been commenting, this one's for you <3


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